By Martin Banks - 3rd October 2007
Former UK deputy prime minister John Prescott has condemned ‘anti-gay’ comments by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Addressing the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Patriarch Alexy II, Russia’s senior religious leader, assailed homosexuality as a sin and an illness.
In a 50-minute appearance, he focused mainly on the need for Europe to rediscover its Christian values and abandon moral relativism.
"No-one should force me or my brothers and sisters in faith to keep quiet when we call something a sin."
Homosexuality is, he said, “an illness” and a “distortion of the human personality like kleptomania.”
But his comments sparked a walkout by some members, including Prescott, making his first appearance in the parliamentary assembly.
He has also signed a statement which urges the Patriarch to “avoid the use of language inciting intolerance and to respect, rather than seek to deny, the fundamental rights of sexual minorities.”
Prescott, a former MEP, was this week elected a vice president of the assembly, which enables him to chair plenary sessions, held four times a year.
Despite opposition from some Tory members, he was also elected head of the 18-strong UK delegation.
The council oversees human right standards in member states and enforces decision of the European court of human rights.
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