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THE Catholic Church in Liverpool has been labelled "un-Christian" after it stopped a gay and lesbian group using a church building in the city.The Archdiocese outlawed a religious service followed by a social event which was organised by a group called Quest, at the Liverpool University Catholic Chaplaincy.
Quest claimed they had arranged a Mass and barbecue party at the Chaplaincy Church of St Philip Neri, in Catherine Street, at the weekend.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese yesterday said the group was blocked from using the Chaplaincy on the grounds the service was never to have been a Mass.
But Quest said the service was intended to help gay Catholics talk about their experiences and to pray for understanding of the issues of faith that they face.
Quest was officially removed from the list of recognised groups in the Catholic Church in 1998, labelled as defying its teaching on homosexuality.
The group said that following the ban the prayer meeting and barbecue was switched to an address in the city that is not controlled by the Church.
Yesterday traditionalists praised the Archdiocese for its stance, claiming practising homosexuals had no place in the Catholic Church.
Daphne McLeod, of the campaign group Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, said: "The Archdiocese has taken absolutely the correct decision. Quest is not a Catholic group because they dissent from the teachings of the Church.
"Catholic parents who send their children to university would be aghast if meetings promoting homosexuality were to be staged at a Catholic chaplaincy. And it is quite wrong for them to try to use a Catholic place of worship to put forward their beliefs in this way. Catholic doctrine is a question of all-or-nothing. You have to believe in it wholly, not just the parts you like. We would welcome them if, like other organisations, they helped homosexuals to live chaste lives. We believe in no sex outside marriage - but they don't, they encourage active homosexuality. It is incompatible with the teachings of the Church."
Quest organisers accused Archbishop Kelly of failing to understand their organisation.
Area organiser Edward Down said: "I do not understand why we have been banned from using the Liverpool Catholic Chaplaincy. We rely on the teachings of the Church and are true to the Faith in every way.
"The hierarchy seems to think we promote active homosexuality and that we are some sort of seedy sex agency, but that's not the case at all. We are very upset at being judged like this. It is not compassionate, it is not Christian, and it is extremely disrespectful."
A spokesman for the Liverpool Archdiocese said: "It was brought to the attention of the Archdiocese that Quest were planning to hold a meeting at the University Chaplaincy."
"Despite what was said in some quarters, Mass was not going to be celebrated. As Quest is not an officially recognised body in the Roman Catholic Church, it was agreed this meeting should not go ahead."
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