It is not hypocrisy for the Catholic Church to wish to ensure that speakers at Catholic conferences support Catholic teaching. Here's my media release on why the Brennan ban is actually about freedom of association. The same freedom Greens and LGBTIQ activists rightly expect to be able to exercise. 

MEDIA RELEASE

Brennan ban shows great integrity

Rather than ‘hypocrisy’ the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart has shown great integrity in not allowing a priest who opposes Catholic teaching to speak at a Catholic conference.

Conservative Party spokesman Lyle Shelton said having eroded freedom of speech, the LGBTIQ political lobby was now putting pressure on freedom of association.

“I’m not expecting to be asked to shape the world view of the adherents of the Greens political party any time soon, nor would I expect this. That is not a gag, it is freedom of association.

“In the same way a priest who is actively undermining Catholic teaching on marriage should not be expected to be placed, with the blessing of the church, in a position where he can influence Catholics against the church’s teaching.”

Mr Shelton was commenting on a Greens’ activists’ condemnation of the church for supposed ‘hypocrisy’ for excluding same-sex marriage advocate Father Frank Brennan from speaking at a conference earlier this year.

“Freedom of association is a long held precious freedom of Western societies but the Greens and LGBTIQ activists believe that promotion of their worldview should trump freedom of association.

“They believe that any individual or organisation that declines to promote their view of marriage and gender should be punished. They are anti-freedom and anti-diversity.

“Frank Brennan is free to publicly undermine the Catholic church’s view of marriage in the same way that I am free to continue to say that the truth about marriage is that it is between one man and one woman.

“The only difference is Fr Brennan does not risk being hauled before a human rights commission,” Mr Shelton said.

“Australia is now in a battle for the future of freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion.

“It is a battle we must win because totalitarianism is the alternative,” Mr Shelton said.

Media contact: Lyle Shelton [email protected]

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