Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart, Australia has sparked intense controversy with a statement decrying a campaign to overturn Christian moral principles.
“Over the last 30-40 years we have witnessed an organized campaign to overturn the traditional Christian understanding of sex and sexuality in western society,” the archbishop wrote in a letter to Catholic-school parents.
Archbishop Porteous warned against “the imposition of certain ideological positions on social and moral questions by means of legislation.” He said that Catholics “cannot stand by as we experience are freedoms being taken from us.”
The archbishop said that a radical campaign reached its peak in 2017 with the legal redefinition of marriage. He also pointed to the drives for unrestricted abortion, legal euthanasia, and “transgender” rights.
The archbishop’s strong message predictably drew angry responses from supporters of the political campaigns that he criticized. A member of the Australian parliament, Kristie Johnson, whose received the archbishop’s letter because her daughter attends a Catholic school, characterized the prelate’s message as “nothing short of hateful speech.”