lupestripe | Gays, The Church And Me

An interesting dilemma has just presented itself.

I am going to Cambridge on Friday for a meal at my college with some of my university friends. One of them is a devout Catholic and, although he is a perfectly nice guy, he is somewhat intolerant of my lifestyle. He knows I am gay and prays for me apparently. He is perfectly friendly - nothing changed when I came out - but it's clear he doesn't approve of gays and the fact I am gay. He is not nasty, we have a laugh and a joke, and ultimately little has changed. He is not a bad person, I just think his views are wrong.

That's fine really, people are entitled to their views and I have no real right to proselytise. It's sad he thinks like this but before now it has been rather benign and very easy to overlook. We all have different opinions and experiences after all. However, he is now urging his friends on Facebook to sign up to Archbishop Carey's Coalition For Marriage against equal marriage laws for homosexuals. To me, this has now crossed a line as he is actively campaigning against something I believe should be an intrinsic freedom in a secular and progressive society. And of course what he is doing could and will have a direct impact on my life.

I was meant to be sharing a room with him in Cambridge on Friday but am now unsure whether I want to. I will have to make alternate arrangements in either Cambridge or London but that may be for the best. I doubt the conversation would drift on to this topic as he is respectful of alternative views but I am not sure I want to tempt fate. It's a difficult one to call.

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