OUR LATEST ISSUE
SITE SEARCH
Gay News: A former vicar and his wife have been banned from fostering after saying they don't want gay couples in their home.
By: Nigel Robinson
Lancashire County Council rejected the Yallops
Lancashire County Council rejected the Yallops
Ex-vicar can't foster because of views on gays
John Yallop from Blackburn and his wife Colette told Lancashire County Council that if they were approved for fostering then they would prefer to meet any gay couples wanting to adopt at a children’s centre rather than at their home.
They claimed that having a same-sex couple in their home would confuse their young children.
Mr Yallop told the Daily Mail: “We are not homophobic and have worked alongside gay people, but we believe inviting gay couples into our home for the handover process might be detrimental to our family life and our young children.
‘We don’t want to have to explain to our five-year-old daughter or seven-year-old son why a youngster we’ve been caring for has two mummies or daddies.”
They went on to say that they had no objection to a gay person visiting on his or her own.
The Council rejected their application to become fosterers, as the couple’s views breached the Council’s equality and diversity policy which rules out discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
It also added that meeting couples outside home could adversely affect the child’s experience of the introduction to his adopters.
Mr Yallop admitted that he had thought their assessment process might would prove to be intrusive.
“I’m no saint,” he told the newspaper, “having had to resign as a Church of England minister after committing adultery while married to my first wife.”
He also admitted to being “a bit of a tearaway” when he was younger, and having spent time in jail for stealing.
The couple is expected to appeal against the decision, and their case has been taken up by the Christian Legal Centre who said:
“It is vital that as Christians we are allowed to live out our faith in public and not be eliminated from this kind of vital community work due to oppressive equalities legislation.”
