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Gay news: British public will now have the chance to vote on controversial pontiff's voice
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope nominated for Classical Brit award
Pope Benedict XVI has been nominated for a Classical Brit award, placing him in contention with artists such as former X Factor finalist Rhydian Roberts and Only Men Aloud.
The pontiff's voice appears on Alma Mater - Music from the Vatican, which will compete for album of the year and be voted for by the public.
The other artists nominated are Fron Male Voice Choir, Faryl Smith, Camilla Kerslake, The Priests, Blake, Howard Goodall and the Coldstream Guards. Voting begins on February 15 with the winner to announced at the Royal Albert Hall on May 13.
Two weeks ago it was reported that the Pope's public intervention in the controversy over Harriet Harman's amendments to her equality bill, which concerned the employment of LGBT people by religious organisations, had tipped the balance and eroded the government's will to continue with the legislation, which it later dropped.
In a letter to the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, the Pope had criticised the legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".
The amendments were intended to clarify rather than change existing law, exempting churches from discrimination legislation when appointing priests and other clerical posts but requiring them to comply with its terms for "non-religious" jobs such as administrators or youth workers.
Commenting on the government's dropping of the legislation, Pink Triangle Trust's secretary, George Broadhead, said: "This abject climbdown has obviously been prompted by the Pope's recent criticism of the pro-gay clause in the bill and is a clear indication, if any were needed, of the continuing malign political influence exerted by the Catholic church."
