A portrait of Lord Carey has been removed from the King’s College London campus, seemingly after the university bowed to pressure from LGBT campaigners.
Activists had campaigned for five years for the image of the former Archbishop of Canterbury and King’s alumnus to be removed from its ‘wall of fame’ of prestigious graduates, because of his pro-marriage views.
In 2013, Lord Carey expressed opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
’Inclusive’
Ben Hunt, President of King’s Students’ Union and a leader of the campaign, wrote: “LGBT+ students over several years had been concerned with the portrayal of Lord Carey of Clifton as an alumni who should be celebrated”.
He added that he worked with the university on the new display that would “express a community which strives to be accepting of diversity and inclusive”.
Last year, King’s Students’ Union newspaper, ROAR, ran the headline: “Lord Carey ‘to be pulled from Strand windows’ after LGBT group win two-year anti-homophobia campaign”.
The university claims the decision was taken to remove the picture to make way for new TV screens to be put up, and to better reflect the diversity of the college’s alumni.
Orwellian
Founded as a Christian institution, it has been criticised for its decision.
An article by one of its own lecturers, Niall McCrae, and Anglican minister Revd Dr Jules Gomes slammed the move, saying “to label Carey a homophobe is to enter the theatre of the absurd”.
They attributed his vilification to LGBT campaigners who refuse to acknowledge that clergymen are able to care for all, “while maintaining a traditional view on marriage”.
They also highlighted what they called “Orwellian doublethink” of LGBT activists who “carry the baton of tolerance” while attacking Lord Carey.
Bullies
“Their world is framed by identity politics, with positive discrimination for those of favoured status, while any unfavourable attributes (as arbitrarily determined) are open to attack”, they said.
The Christian Institute’s Simon Calvert said if it was true that the Archbishop’s view on marriage was one of the reasons for his picture’s removal, then King’s would have to “get rid of many more pictures – and many students and staff too”.
“Despite all the bullying,” he said, “vast numbers of people still believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and they always will.
Closed minds
“The public are fed up of LGBT witch-hunts. What happened to all that talk of diversity and tolerance?”
The Telegraph said in its editorial that “some of the current generation of students seem intent on using the opportunities higher education offers them to close their minds rather than open them”.
It also noted that opposition to same-sex marriage was ‘hardly a marginal view’.