It's very sad that the indulgence of the militant homosexual pervert agenda by the present Government has reached the stage where Christians doing tremendously important and valuable social work are being forced to close adoption agencies. It is obvious that homosexual perverts are unsuitable to become adoptive [or foster] parents and anybody in their right mind knows that. A child needs a male and a female parent - a father and a mother. Furthermore no child should be subject to an environment of homosexual perversion or a lifestyle which is well-documented to be dangerous and harmful. The very high prevalence of paedophilia amongst homosexuals is reason enough why vulnerable children shouldn't be handed over to them to satisfy Stonewall's wish for perverts to parade their 'trophy babies'. It is tragic, it is offensive and it is wrong that Christian adoption agencies are being forced to close but faced with the full might of the State there is no other option because no Christian [or indeed any sane non-Christian] in their right mind is going to place a child for fostering or adoption with homosexual perverts who are so obviously unsuitable by definition to be involved in the upbringing of children.

A slight change of subject but I pray the venerable Salford Advertiser will indulge me on this occasion. How have Salford's MPs done in the last two days of voting by MPs in regard of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill? Spare Part Siblings... Blears voted for. Stewart did not vote. Keeley did not vote. Animal/Human Hybrids... Blears voted for. Stewart voted against. Keeley voted for. The 'need for a father' consideration... Blears voted against. Stewart voted for. Keeley did not vote. Lowering the abortion limit to 12 weeks... Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against. Lowering the abortion limit to 16 weeks... Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against. Lowering the abortion limit to 20 weeks... Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against. Lowering the abortion limit to 22 weeks... Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against. Intorducing 'informed consent' (counselling to women considering an abortion)... Blears, Stewart and Keeley voted against.

What a bigoted view, basically stating that all homosexuals are paedophiles.

I hardly think so my hissing friend. I wrote of the: "...very high prevalence of paedophilia amongst homosexuals..." That is the truth. I would not say that all homosexuals are paedophiles because it is not so. However as I previously said and repeat now it is undeniably true that the great majority of paedophiles are homosexuals. Most sexual crimes committed against children involve homosexual men interfering with boys. Whilst not all homosexuals are paedophiles - most paedophiles are homosexual. Consider that Ian Wathey and Craig Faunch - the first homosexual couple to be aproved as foster parents in Yorkshire - were two years ago found guilty of [and imprisoned for] a total of 12 sex offences agianst young boys placed in their care by Wakefield Council. The Police found the hardcore homosexual pornographic film 'A Young Man's World' - about the exploits of a group of older men lusting after and performing sex acts with young males - in the gay couple's bedroom video player. That's just one example. Consider also... In June 1997 the prominent perverts' activist Peter Tatchell wrote a letter published in the Guardian defending the decision of the Gay Men's Press to publish the book 'Dare to Speak' which unashamedly advocates paedophilia. And defending their decision to publish 'Dare to Speak' the Gay Men's Press were quoted thus in The Guardian (23.06.97): "GMP has always seen boy-love as a legitimate strand in the gay rainbow. There are boys who love men, just as there are men who love boys." And from 'Dare to Speak' itself: "...paedophilia is not a problem for the paedophile; it is apparently also not a problem for the child. Paedophilia is primarily a problem for the non-paedophile, for society." The fact is homosexual adult men like little boys; it inevitably follows that most sexual crimes against children are those committed by homosexual men against boys. That homosexuals can foster and adopt children is an abomination and a great evil.

I am shocked and appauled at the complete ignorance displayed by Richard Carvath, and at the Salford Advertiser for printing his absurd and misinformed comments. With all due respect you have failed to understand any of the psychology behind child molestation.Ill put it down to the christian right and the way they have completely abused the statistics to suit its homophobic agenda. 25-40% of male child molesters molest young boys, as opposed to young girls, Why?.. Child molesters can be divided into two types: "fixated" and "regressed." The FIXATED offender is attracted primarily to children and has little or no interest in adult relationships; such a person is known in clinical terms as a "paedophile." The REGRESSED offender is interested in and capable of adult sexual relationships; however, this person may on occasion regress to sexual encounters with children, often as a result of difficulties and frustration in his adult relationships. the FIXATED offender, or pedophile, tends to select boys more often than girls, but for reasons having nothing to do with homosexuality: In general, fixated child molesters are drawn to children sexually in that they identify with the child and appear in some ways to want to remain children themselves. It is for this reason that the trend for fixated offenders is to target boys as victims. . . . They see the boy as a projected representation of themselves. They feel themselves to be more child than adult – more boys than men – and therefore find themselves more comfortable (especially sexually) in the company of children. . . . these same individuals are uninterested in adult homosexual relationships. In fact, they frequently express a strong sexual aversion to adult males, reporting that what they find attractive about the immature boy are his feminine features and the absence of secondary sexual characteristics such as body hair and muscles." The second type of offender, the REGRESSED offender, is naturally predominantly heterosexual. However, he may temporarily turn to boys or girls as a result of complications in his adult relations. Although regressed offenders are more likely to choose girls than boys as victims Homosexuality and homosexual pedophilia are not synonymous. In fact, it may be that these two orientations are mutually exclusive, the reason being that the homosexual male is sexually attracted to masculine qualities whereas the heterosexual male is sexually attracted to feminine characteristics, and the sexually immature child’s qualities are more feminine than masculine. . . . The child offender who is attracted to and engaged in adult sexual relationships is heterosexual. It appears, therefore, that the adult heterosexual male constitutes a greater sexual risk to underage children than does the adult homosexual male. I do hope you know have a firmer understanding of a very important issue which you feel to be an expert on, when in reality not only do you know nothing but are dangerously misinformed.

Andrew, Thank you for being able so eloquently to put Richard carvath straight. I know he is a decent and well meaning person with strong views and morals but he is often misguided and sometimes clearly wrong. He often quotes theories and statistics which can be picked up using google but what annoys me the most is that he writes as if he the the expert and he is right and you are wrong.

V quick comment - may expand later. I stand by what I've previously said and dismiss the psychological claptrap of an earlier commentator. Homosexuality is intimately and strongly linked with paedophilia (and this has always been the case as it always will be). There is quite simply an enormous body of social scientific, criminological, anecdotal [etc] evidence which substantiates this.

I was thinking this evening about expanding on the whole subject of homosexuality and paedophilia. There is much that I could write on this subject and many sources which I could draw upon to 'make my argument' - if I was so minded. However my thinking led on to praying about the subject. What I really sought from God was, well... just what do you have to say on this Salford Advertiser comments-thread Lord? Now I know you may be thinking God doesn't post comments on the Salford Advertiser website, He's far too busy running the Universe, or something of that sort. Well, I must admit, I was a little surprised myself, BUT... Whilst I was praying, whilst I was listening for God, He said: "Richard, would you do something for me please?" "Yes Lord." "I'd like you to quote me on the Salford Advertiser website please." "Oh right! What do you want to say Lord?" So here it is, this is a direct quote from Jesus Christ... exclusive to the Salford Advertiser! Jesus says: "I love homosexuals. I love paedophiles. I desire to set each one free from the slavery and suffering of their sicknesses and sins. I desire a deep and intimate relationship with each one. I love each one dearly. I desire each one to be whole - healed and saved. I am the healer who makes whole, I am the saviour who makes right." "Come to me, each of you in need of healing and hope. I desire to heal and help you now. I am always ready to hear your cry for help. Show me your pain - give your suffering to me. Come to me for healing, cleansing and forgiveness. Be assured of how much I love you, how I yearn to enter into your heart and fill you with my Spirit of love, joy and peace. Come to me..."

See what I mean Andrew?

Wow Richard, 3 comments for me? Thankyou. I'm not entirely sure what you mean when you say "see what i mean?" You didnt refute anything i said. You simply "quoted" and imaginary conversation with your imaginary friend. I'd urge you to re-read my last post, im not sure you quite grasped it. This simply isn't psycological claptrap (you're clearly not a scholar). Your calling it such demonstrates your complete inability to have any authority on this subject and is an insult to all those who give up their lives and work tirelessly to protect vulnerable children. Your clear agenda is to demonise homosexuals. Members of disliked minority groups are often stereotyped as representing a danger to the majority's most vulnerable members. For example, Jews in the Middle Ages were accused of murdering Christian babies in ritual sacrifices. Black men in the United States were often lynched after being falsely accused of raping White women. In a similar fashion, gay people have often been portrayed as a threat to children. There is simply no real evidence to support this. You are writing in the public sphere here Richard so only science will do. I am waiting. Richard it s fine for you to practice all of the intellectual perversion you like in the comfort of your own home/church, however im sure youll understand it is neccessary to protect the young and innocent from this rubbish.

Apologies to Baz and Richard for the "see what i mean" misquote at the beggining.I really should slow down.

I am loving this! Someone is finally able to challenge Richards views and is clearly an expert on the subject. Richard- as a regular church goer brought up in the church and born again and the son of a methodist miniter, I understand (but do not share) your viewpoint but I believe your comments are making you come across as much as a religious extremist as those muslims you keep going on about.

Very well Andrew I will respond to your request to get into this subject in more detail - but not right this moment, I haven't the time right now and I don't want to rush my response to you. Therefore I promise to get back to you as soon as... probably tomorrow, certainly by Thursday. I note your passion for science and presumably by implication an empirical and logical approach to conducting an argument. I think I can accommodate a little bit of logic!... maybe a lot!...we shall see. Keen as I am to present some heavyweight secular, 'scientific' sources in my response to you though I must forewarn you that I will not be limited to responding to you only on such a basis. It is of course entirely your own concern what you choose to make of such sources or arguments which I may present and which you may deem to be 'unscientific'. We shall see. We'll examine the evidence and the 'theories' which surround the evidence and have a jolly good ponder over this subject. My regards to you and I'll get back to you as soon as...

PREAMBLE. In writing about homosexuality here I have to be mindful that this is a local newspaper website with a broad, general audience. Therefore: (1) What follows is an overview only; I can't write anything too long; (2) I will write for the general reader rather than in a 'heavy' or esoteric academic style or with obscure scientific vocabulary - however I trust that I will nevertheless write rigorously; given that I will not write in an 'academic manner' I probably won't cite every source in detail, for the sake of brevity and easy reading and also because most of what I intend to offer here is 'classic', well-documented, generic facts and figures which presumably no 'intellectual' or 'expert in the field' would seriously dispute; (3) Though I could go into great detail about the disgusting sexual practices of homosexuals - and which would greatly strengthen my case - I think to do so would be inappropriate for this website. I write as an evangelical Christian holding to orthodox Biblical doctrine regarding homosexuality. I assert that the Bible's teaching on homosexuality is the absolute and incontrovertible truth and the final authority on the subject. I declare that I love homosexuals as people whilst at the same time hating their sinful and immoral homosexual practices. Please note and remember this distinction drawn between people and their actions and attitudes; the Christian approach is to 'love the sinner whilst hating the sin'. The Christian seeks to balance on the one hand compassion and unconditional love for people with on the other hand the need to uphold truth and justice by righteously opposing the evil conduct of people. The Christian must love homosexuals whilst at the same time opposing the evil in which they engage. I might say that this approach is a 'marriage' of love and mercy with justice and truth and as such it reflects the character of God. In our 'sexualised' society we are obsessed with the physical part of human sexuality and the other aspects of sex have been marginalised. In the broadest sense, sexuality is about 'community'. What that means is that our God-given human sex drive is the force which draws us into families for our mutual benefit (and by extension from the family into communities and society as a whole). At the heart of human sexuality is the need which resides in each person to relate to other people and to give and receive love; we are not designed to be solitary individuals but to be sociable and to live and work together in harmony with other people. This is what God intends: good and wholesome relationships between people which benefit everybody in society. Broken relationships and all the associated pain and misery are clearly not what God wants for us. Having mentioned sexuality in the broadest sense, even in the narrower sense in which we usually think of sex we need to remember that we are not merely animals but rather we are humans 'made in the image of God'. Sex is not only a physical act but is also a powerful emotional and spiritual act. Sex has a major moral dimension, it is not just another physical appetite like the need to eat food. When a man and a woman have sex it is a whole union of the physical, the emotional and the spiritual and so it is not something to be treated casually - especially given the potential for the creation of a new human life. Let's remember that sex (as it is meant to be) is a very special and most intimate human experience; sex is not (or should not be) a casual, unthinking 'leisure activity' on a par with having a pint and a cigarette. There is an importance and significant consequences which attach to sex which we ignore at our peril. The primary function of sex is to bind a man and a woman together in a lifelong union. In a marriage sex is to be enjoyed! In the proper context of marriage there is nothing shameful or wrong about sex. God made sex to be pleasurable and good between a husband and wife and it is certainly not God's intention to limit marital sex to the purpose of procreation. The secondary function - albeit very important - served by sex is of course the conception of children. Note the order of these functions. Sex serves first and foremost to join a husband and wife together - to make them 'one flesh' - and is the most intimate expression of their love and commitment and so it naturally follows that they regularly enter into the bonding and blessing of sexual union (without necessarily the desire to conceive). Sex in marriage is not sinful - it's wonderful! It is when sex does not take place in the right context and/or for the wrong reasons or with a wrong attitude that there is a problem. The Christian position - to which I hold, and which I assert here - is that sex is meant to take place only in an exclusive marriage between one man and one woman. In practical terms this is often summarised as 'chastity before marriage and fidelity within'. Over the course of a lifetime the people who usually have the best - and also often the most frequent - sex are those who remain virgins until marriage, marry another virgin and then remain faithful in marriage for life. And as for the problems which beset the promiscuous - like unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, broken hearts and so on - it hardly needs to be said that those who practise 'chastity before marriage and fidelity within' have little fear of such sufferings. Furthermore it follows that there is no place for homosexuality. Homosexuality is an utter absurdity, an exercise in vain futility, an evil and immoral perversion which serves no good purpose and inevitably leads to a dead-end. END OF PREAMBLE. Tomorrow I hope I'll find time to finish this post off and get into the 'meat' of the subject proper - namely homosexuality. I thought it was important though to 'set out my stall' just a little bit first with this preamble. I won't respond to comments (if any arise) about this preamble until I've finished off with the follow-up post.

We all know the christian bibles position on sex outside of marriage, promiscuity and homosexuality Richard. This is not the debate, you are religious, a Christian as it happens. Though I content you would be a Muslim if you'd happened to have been brought up in a Muslim country or a Hindu if you were brought up in India. I stopped believing in an omniscient creater at about the same time i stopped believing in father christmas and fairies. Do get on.

Many studies and surveys have consistently shown that only about one per cent of adults are homosexual. Homosexuals are not born but made; homosexuality is not innate but is rather a learned or acquired behaviour and lifestyle often rooted in a confusion about identity and furthermore homosexuality usually has an identifiable origin arising from a childhood or adolescent trauma. Homosexuality is not caused by biological or organic factors be they genetic, hereditary, hormonal or any other. Nobody is 'born gay'! Neither does anybody become a homosexual at any later time of life on account of changing physiology. Personality is the expression of a person's whole identity. Sexuality is a component part of personality. Our expression of sexual identity - our 'sexuality' - encompasses our attitudes, the manner of our dressing and the presentation of our bodies (such as hairstyle), and the way we relate to others in addition to our actual sexual habits (what we do and with whom). Since sexuality is only a part of personality as a whole, when sexuality is out of balance with other parts of personality and exerts an excessive influence upon behaviour the result is invariably an unhealthy and self-destructive lifestyle. Unbalanced sexuality is harmful and destructive to the sufferer. Homosexuality is a deep confusion - and, indeed, a crisis - of personal identity which places the homosexual in conflict with himself and with society as a whole. Homosexuality is a confusion of sexual identity. Homosexuality is often rooted in unhealthy or non-existent family relationships which fail to affirm the sexual identity of a person through their childhood, adolescence and into young adulthood. Parental relationships are the most fundamental and influential relationships in our whole lives which affect the development of our identity, including the development of sexual identity. Many homosexuals had a poor or non-existent relationship with their same-sex parent in childhood and so for these people the manifestation of homosexuality in their adulthood is an [subconcious] attempt to compensate by seeking in a same-sex experience the love which was not received from the parent. Some homosexuals were brought up in an all female environment and deprived of a father as a male role model in adolescence. Some homosexuals are the children of a parent or parents who desired them to be a child of the opposite gender. For example a male infant dressed in girls' clothing for two or three years might understandably grow up confused (and there have been instances of this). Many people who become homosexual arrive in the homosexual condition because given the opportunity older homosexual men often impose their will upon impressionable and immature adolescent boys. Such paedophilic-homosexuals often use homosexual pornography and drugs in the process of bending a boy to their will, the process of depraving and corrupting a boy into becoming homosexual. Indeed child abuse, which often includes occultic practices, is frequently the origin of homosexuality. Furthermore accidental traumatic experiences can be the trigger; for example a young girl accidentally encountered her mother having sex with a strange man (not her father) and was so traumatised and disgusted that she grew up avoiding all men whom she found repulsive. There are further twists on the homosexual theme which are worthy of brief mention. Homosexuals often seek to dominate, control and 'consume' a man they admire in order to 'possess' for themselves the qualities in that man which they lack themselves; this is essentially the same mentality as in cannibalism. Homosexuals often abuse alcohol and drugs and participate in the occult in an attempt to cope with the problems and pain caused by their lifestyle but unfortunately these influences predispose people to sexual deviancy and often lead victims deeper into homosexual depravity; indeed occultic ceremonies frequently feature deviant sexual activity. Homosexuality is strongly associated with bondage and sadomasochistic practices (and also therfore with tattooing and body-piercing). Transvestites are homosexual men who cross-dress in an attempt to relate to other men by wearing women's clothing. Transsexuals believe themselves to be 'imprisoned' in a body of the 'wrong' gender. The perversion of transvestism and the torment of transsexualism both boil down to the essential homosexual problem of confusion over sexual identity. Homosexuality is synonymous with promiscuity. Indeed homosexual promiscuity was the major driving force behind the early spread of AIDS (according to Department of Health figures - issued 21.01.91 - at the end of 1990 homosexual and bisexual men including those who were drug abusers accounted for over 80% of all AIDS cases in the UK). It cannot be overstated how strongly associated homosexuality is with rampant promiscuity. It is commonplace amongst male homosexuals to have hundreds of sexual partners over several years and most of this sexual experience is comprised of one-off encounters with strangers. Furthermore it is not uncommon for male homosexuals to engage in sexual activity with several different partners on a daily basis. But promiscuity causes deep emotional and spiritual damage to the participant, not to mention the enormous danger to physical health. Homosexual acts are biologically unnatural and harmful and cause damage, disorder and disease to body, mind and spirit. The overwhelming majority of homosexuals engage in fellatio, anilingus (botty-licking) and penetrative anal intercourse. A significant minority also practise 'fisting' which involves attempting to shove an entire fist up another's backside. Most homosexuals performing fellatio swallow semen. A significant minority of homosexuals participate in 'golden showers' in which perverts urinate over each other and drink urine. Similarly some also eat faeces. Sadomasochism and bondage is common practice amongst homosexuals. Perverts typically facilitate anal activity by using euphoriant drugs like amyl nitrite [Poppers] to relax the receptive pervert's anal sphincter in order to allow an erect penis, fingers, fist, beer bottle or dildo to be rammed up the rectum (and into the lower bowel). The vast majority of active homosexuals present a serious potential health risk to any of their partners. At any one time about three-quarters of active homosexual men carry one or more major pathogens. In essence promiscuity potentially exposes the participants to the micro-organisms of everyone else with whom they've had sexual contact; in the case of promiscuous homosexual men live viruses and bacteria are literally tramsmitted from one rectum to the next. 80% of active homosexual men engage in insertive anal intercourse. Unlike the vagina, the anus and rectum are not designed for intercourse. Accordingly trauma to both the penis and anus is inevitable and receptive anal intercourse causes tearing of the anus and rectum - indeed perforation of the rectum and lower bowel can occur (necessitating a colostomy). Traumatic damage to the rectum caused by unnatural penetration allows viruses and bacteria to penetrate surrounding body tissues and get into the bloodstream which therefore frequently leads to local and systemic infections. Participants in anal intercourse risk faecal incontinence; in fact a third of homosexuals (who regularly participate in anal intercourse) suffer from anal sphincter dysfunction. Furthermore the receptive participant in anal intercourse carries a thirty-fold increased risk of contracting anal cancer (compared to the general population). There is an astronomically high prevalence of sexually transmitted disease amongst active homosexuals. In their 1978 study of homosexuality Bell and Weinberg found that 75% of homosexual men admitted to having a sexually transmitted infection at some time. Amongst homosexuals local infections comprising abscesses and ulcers in the rectum are common; local infections of the penis are also a problem. Male homosexuals are the main reservoir of syphilis infection in the UK and other common infections include gonorrhoea, chlamydia, lymphogranuloma venereum, all of which cause proctitis (inflammation of the rectum); perianal warts, which are associated with rectal and cervical cancer; herpes simplex type II. Penetrative anal intercourse can cause chronic prostatitis (prostate inflammation), secondary to infection with various organisms. [All of these organisms cause significant disease and readily lead to infertility when passed to women by bisexual activity; bowel organisms cause very severe salinitis (Fallopian tube infection).] Homosexuals often have mouth infections such as syphilitic ulcers or herpes which can be passed on to anyone - including children - through kissing. The term 'Gay Bowel Syndrome' was coined to refer to the condition (due to infection and with symptoms of cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal bloating) which particularly plagues male homosexuals. Indeed it is unsurprising that bowel infections are a particular problem for homosexuals given the extensive promiscuity and the practice of anilingus ('rimming') and also oral-genital contact after anal penetration. The sort of bowel infections homosexuals thus contract include giardia, amoeba, cryptosporidium, shigella, strongyloides stercoralis, salmonella (typhoid) and entamoeba histolytica. Blood borne infections including Hepatitis (A, B, C, D and G) and HIV are much higher amongst male homosexuals compared to the general population (because of tissue damage and blood mingling from anal penetration and also due to oral-faecal contamination). Homosexuality is unsurprisingly strongly associated with premature death; the life expectancy of homosexual men is thirty years less than that of normal heterosexual men. Premature morbidity amongst perverts is due to a variety of factors - not least the many deadly diseases caused by perverts' deviant and dangerous, unnatural and unhygienic sexual practices (and propagated and exacerbated by rampant promiscuity). AIDS is predominantly a disease of male homosexuals and is a major cause of their premature deaths; a twenty year old male homosexual is generally estimated to have a one-in-three chance of becoming HIV positive or contracting full-blown AIDS by the age of thirty. This is unsurprising when the risk ratio [based upon a range of interdependent, contributory factors] of HIV transmission due to anal intercourse compared to vaginal varies between a lethal 2733:1 'at best' up to at worst a staggering 24000:1. Violent death is remarkably higher amongst homosexual men compared to the general population. Homosexual men are much more likely to be murdered or to commit suicide than normal heterosexual men. A 1994 study by Cameron, Playfair and Wellum found that homosexuals were 116 times more likely to be murdered and 24 times more likely to commit suicide! For example the founder of the Gay Police Association Matthew Windibank [actually a civilian employed by the police] committed suicide in a Brighton hotel room in 1999 aged just thirty-nine because he was tormented by his homosexuality. Drug abuse and clinical depression are also much more prevalent amongst homosexuals compared to the general population. 'Time Out' (16-23.05.01) reported a Sigma research survey of nearly 16,000 homosexual men (conducted in February 2001) which revealed illegal drug abuse amongst homosexuals to be way above the level in the general population. Half of interviewees admitted to using 'poppers' in the past year and furthermore 29% of respondents admitted to abusing Ecstasy and 29% to abusing cocaine. Homosexual 'relationships' are characterised by their transcience; long-term exclusive couplings between two homosexuals are very much the exception to the rule. It cannot be over-emphasised that most male homosexuals revel in the flagrant promiscuity which defines 'gay culture'. The few homosexual 'relationships' which do last for a significant period of time tend to be torn by the tensions inevitably arising from the anger, jealousy and mistrust caused by frequent infidelities. Indeed surveys consistently show that homosexual cohabitees have the highest rate for domestic violence. Whereas marriages rooted in true love bear witness to the giving and receiving of unconditional love between one man and one woman in a faithful union for life, homosexual 'relationships' (which are extremely rare anyway) are fraught with anger and jealousy because most homosexuals are promiscuous and because the perverted homosexual notion of 'love' is largely related to dominating and exploiting another person. In consideration of all this it is hardly surprising that many homosexuals are most certainly NOT 'glad to be gay'. Many homosexuals are deeply disturbed by their perversion and want to change and become normal. In the 1992 Sigma study (funded by the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health) over a third of homosexual men expressed regret at being homosexual. The good news is that many homosexuals are successfully delivered from their perversion and become normal heterosexuals on receipt of therapy and healing; Christian healing ministries are especially successful in helping homosexuals to overcome homosexuality. What homosexuals really need from society is help to be healed from homosexuality - not encouragement in their disastrous perversion. Strictly speaking the word 'paedophile' refers to an individual who practises their perversion upon boys (because the Greek root 'paedos' means 'boy' - not child). Over the last forty years due to the influence and propaganda of pro-homosexual campaigning there has taken place a little 'lexical engineering' to make the word more ambiguous. Before the 1960s the common word that was used (where today the word 'paedophile' is used) ws the word 'paederast'. Consider for example that the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1964) very clearly defined 'paederasty' as: "sodomy with a boy" (from the Greek paidos+erastes, i.e. boy+lover). Compare that to the Penguin English Dictionary (2002) which defines a 'paedophile' as a "person affected with paedophilia" (and 'paedophilia' as "sexual desire directed towards children"). It seems the definition has become 'softer' and more ambiguous. There is quite a contrast betwen the clarity in the 1960s that paedophilia meant sodomy with a boy and the contemporary climate in which paedophilia is taken to be sexual desire directed towards children! Of course the reason for this reinterpretation of what is a paedophile is a deliberate attempt by the pro-homosexual lobby to confuse and deceive the public and to hide the truth because the truth is that the worst offenders committing sexual crime against boys have always been and remain homosexual men. Paedophilia and homosexuality are intimately linked at every level and in every way. Paedophilia is essentially an 'extension' of homosexuality ( which is unsurprising because homosexuality is an immature and incomplete, deviant expression of sexuality wherein the homosexual remains almost like an adolescent - not having matured into normal adult heterosexuality). The truth is: lots of homosexual men like male teenagers and even little boys. Furthermore it's important to grasp that many homosexual men do not consider pubescent and adolescent boys to be children (and therefore view these children as 'fair game'). Every paedophile campaign group that there is or ever has been was founded and run by 'mainstream' homosexual activists. When he was chairman of the campaign group the Paedophile Information Exchange, Keith Hose addressed a meeting of activists from the 'mainstream' Campaign for Homosexual Equality and asked the activists to stand if they honestly believed they were only attracted to adults with the result that a third remained seated. The old joke amongst activists of the 'mainstream' Gay Switchboard was that a paedophile was someone who fancied boys younger than you did. The 'mainstream' homosexual organisation the Terrence Higgins Trust administers the Ian Dunn Award; Ian Dunn was an acknowledged paedophile who died in 1998 aged fifty-four and who was a co-founder of the Paedophile Information Exchange and a campaigner in favour of coprophiliac pornography. Homosexuals are simply not suitable to be foster parents or adoptive parents however in 2005 - thanks to Tony Blair and his Labour Government (voted in by only one-in-five of the electorate) doing the bidding of perverts' campaign group Stonewall - a law came into force which has henceforth made legal the adoption of children by homosexual couples. This situation is an absolute travesty and an abomination; it amounts to a serious betrayal - even an abuse - of vulnerable children. Children need a mother and a father to provide the essential male and female role models necessary for normal maturation into adulthood; to be subjected to homosexual adoption or fostering clearly denies this essential foundation to children. And the evidence of the madness of handing vulnerable children over to perverts is already beginning to stack up. Ian Wathey and Craig Faunch were the first homosexual couple in Yorkshire to be approved as foster parents. They are now in prison after they were convicted of a total of twelve sex offences against the young boys placed in their foster care by Wakefield Council following their approval as foster parents in 2003. Between them the two abused young boys, filmed boys naked in the shower and subjected one boy to hardcore homosexual pornographic films. Similarly Lesley Broughton and Lynne Sheridan were the first lesbian couple to adopt children under the auspices of Bolton Social Services. They subsequently subjected a seven year old girl and a nine year old girl to appalling verbal abuse and violence over a two-and-a-half year period including forcing the girls to swallow washing-up liquid. Amongst other crimes they were eventually convicted of cruelty and of administering obnoxious substances. In conclusion children should be kept well away from homosexuals because children need a normal family environment and because they should not be exposed to the dangerous and destructive homosexual lifestyle and also because children in the 'care' of homosexuals are at high risk of sexual abuse. But in our society what are we doing to our children? Handing them over to homosexuals for fostering and adoption. Quite simply this is morally wrong and a great evil. Society should not be giving children over to homosexuals but rather we should be offering homosexuals the love and help they need to be healed and become normal.

Richard. What say you to the many gay and lesbian christian movements and organisations? Maybe a less lengthy response is desirable- perhaps one paragraph?

Guess.

On the 25th May this year I wrote on this comment-thread [2nd comment] about the voting of Salford's three Members of Parliament in the matter of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill. I'd now like to offer this update. The House of Commons is scheduled to debate the HF & E Bill for the final time [before it is enacted] a week from tomorrow - Wednesday 22nd October. Pro-abortion MPs have tabled amendments to the Bill with the intention to further liberalise British abortion law. Dr. Evan Harris MP [Lib Dem] has tabled the 'New Clause 1' amendment which, if it became law, would allow abortion on demand up to 24 weeks into an unborn baby's life with the approval of just one doctor. Presently the law requires two doctors to sign the forms to allow an abortion to take place. The proposed amendment of Evan Harris would not only abolish this requirement but would also remove the need for the relative risk to a woman's mental and physical health to be assessed. In addition to this amendment, other proposed amendments include new clauses to allow abortions to be performed by nurses and midwives and to allow abortions to be performed in GPs' surgeries and even in residential domestic properties. If the Harris and other amendments are selected for debate next Wednesday then MPs will have a free vote on them; voting would not be subject to the usual party whips. Therefore it is imperative that Salford's MPs hear the views of their constitutents THIS WEEK as to whether Salford folk favour or oppose the Harris and other amendments. There are already over 200,000 abortions annually in the UK (of which 99% are undertaken for so-called "social reasons"). The aforementioned amendments would only make the present situation worse. I believe that far from stripping away the current [and already inadequate] legal safeguards on abortion we actually need to tighten up the law. If abortion were to be made even easier than it already is then the British people would only be heaping up more misery upon misery and more tragedy upon tragedy. I therefore urge those Salfordians who share my concerns to contact Hazel Blears, Ian Stewart and Barbara Keeley - THIS WEEK - in order to express their concerns and to ask these MPs to vote against any amendments which may be debated and which would seek to further weaken the law on abortion. Thank you.

The Catholic Children’s Rescue Society needs to get its act together and start abiding by the law of the land. For too long now these antiquated institutions have been living in the past. Stop discriminating against innocent gay people, children need to be brought up in a loving stable family. Its a travesty that some heterosexual couples who quite frankly aren't fit for parenthood can have as many children as they like while decent caring gay people are stigmatised. If the Catholic Children’s Rescue Society really cared about children it would abandon its homophobic agenda and use a bit of logic and reason. Children brought up in loving, stable single sex families (and you can ask them yourself) grow up as well balanced and happy individuals. Its bad parenting we should be united against. Quite frankly the Catholic Children’s Rescue Society needs to "get over it", the vast majority of us in the UK do not tolerate homophobia, of course there will be a slowly decreasing minority who do. The facts, unfortunately for them are against them.

The TRUTH is, my dear John, against you! You are of course entitled to your opinion and to express your opinion but I must respond to you by saying that everything you've written in favour of homosexuality in your comment is complete and utter rubbish! With your use of Stonewall's latest propaganda catchphrase ' "get over it" ' [the full slogan is 'Some people are gay. Get over it.'] I wonder whether you are directly connected to the perverts' campaign group Stonewall or merely a sympathiser? [When Stonewall came out with this slogan earlier this year in a national billboard campaign I wrote to Stonewall with my own slogan "Homosexuality is a perversion. Admit the truth!" Interestingly, this aggressive and militant organisation didn't even reply.] Discrimination can be a good or a bad thing, a right or a wrong thing depending upon the circumstances. For example, it would be wrong to discriminate against somebody simply because of their skin colour. But homosexuality is not like ethnicity which is innate and fixed at birth; nobody is born gay - it is nothing more than a personal lifestyle choice. It is entirely right, proper and correct to discriminate against homosexual perversion because it is morally evil and because of all the obvious and diabolic consequences that manifest as a result of the practice (as have been documented in a previous comment on this thread). It is right to discriminate against and oppose Nazism because it is evil; it is exactly the same with the evil of homosexual perversion. I note that you put the perverts' campaign groups favourite propaganda word in - 'homophobia'. This was a word invented by pervert campaigners with which to attempt to discredit right-thinking and decent people who oppose the homosexual perversion. Christians like myself are not 'homophobic'; I can assert here (as I have done in public on many previous occasions) that I love homosexuals as people whilst hating their homosexuality - there is no hatred or bigotry in this attitude, on the contrary I love homosexual people and that is why I want to see them healed from the perversion from which they suffer. You wrote that: "Children brought up in loving, stable single sex families ... grow up as well balanced and loving individuals." This statement is quite simply completely untrue and all the evidence confirms it. [As just one highly authoritative source (amongst many) on this, I would cite the work of the eminent sociologist and academic Patricia Morgan, such as her popular 2002 book 'Children As Trophies'.] As for your suggestion that the majority of the British people are in agreement with Stonewall's militant pervert agenda on this matter, the reality is that surveys of public opinion consistently show that the public is overwhelmingly opposed to the adoption of children by homosexual perverts - indeed the opposition in surveys is always at least 80% (of those surveyed). And I might add that God is 100% opposed to homosexuality and to homosexuals fostering or adopting children and so for that reason alone - quite apart from the multitude of other sound reasons - Christian adoption services are entirely right to oppose the law of the land which, in regard of homosexual adoption, is an evil monstrosity on a par with Nazism.

P.S. Whilst I'm on the subject of moral perversion, and further to the 19th comment on this thread, it has become public knowledge [in the national press] today that Evan Harris wishes to use proposed amendments to the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill [in the House of Commons the day after tomorrow] to make it the law in the UK that girls as young as twelve be allowed to self-administer abortion pills at home without the knowledge (let alone consent) of their parents!

My earlier comments had nothing at all to do with Stonewall. Its clear from your comment that you'd expect anyone who wishes to defend innocent gay people to be gay themselves or a member of the "perverts" group stonewall. Richard you are beyond redemption. Your comment was actually very funny in parts, did you actually expect a reply to your pointless letter? Please. You go on to say that homosexuality is a "lifestyle choice" like choosing which brand of cereal to buy, where to go on holiday, what sex to be physically attracted to. On a serious note why would anyone choose a sexuality that will see them persecuted, discriminated against and in some coutries locked up or killed. Nobody would. You cannot choose your sexuality. There is simply no debate over this anymore (except within the judeo-christian instituitions).During the last thirty years, research has proven conclusively that homosexuality is not a pathological disorder. The most important research was the American Psychiatric Association's decision back in 1973 to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in its diagnostic manual. Two years later, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution that stated, "Homosexuality, implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities". The debate is no longer about WHETHER there are biological contributions to orientation, but what they are (hormonal, chromosonal, neuological). And just to clarify, homophobia is defined as the fear of homosexuality or homosexuals. No explanation needed here. The truth of the matter is that homosexuality MUST be defined as a "lifestle choice" in order for those who embrace a faith based view of the world to persecute and discriminate against homosexuals, It is desperate and will not see the end of this century. So the facts really are against you, it is only a matter of time. If YOU can't see that....who cares, religion can not stand in the way of science, reason, and progress indefinately. In many years to come children will look back at the way religious folk attempted to defy truth and persecute innocents with disgust, in much the same way we look back at some elements of the past today.

Well clearly we're not going to agree about homosexuality or even get close to agreeing John. I'm right and you're wrong (and you probably think the same). I view your last comment as just another gush of secular humanist drivel. I'm familiar of course with the 1973 declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness but given the overwhelming evidence of the strong relationship between homosexuality and all manner of diseases, psychiatric/psychological illnesses, emotional problems, premature morbidity etcetera it is clear that to choose to be homosexual is to choose to pursue a fundamentally unbalanced, unhealthy, dangerous and perverse lifestyle. The correlation between homosexuality and dis ease is so strong that it is really splitting hairs to say that homosexuality is not itself an illness when it is clearly the direct cause and origin of so much illness and dis ease. I actually think the 1973 decision was correct [given an accurate understanding of the prevailing psychiatric precepts and semantics etc at the time (and since then)] however I am strongly opposed to the misinterpretation of this event (by the pro-homosexual lobby) as being some sort of evidence that homosexuality is either normal or natural or healthy or good. The [gay propaganda] word 'homophobe' in current application is applied to anyone who is opposed to homosexuality with the heavy and deliberate implication that such people hate gay people (though this implication is rarely true). I [and many other intellectual Christians, many of them scientists - I can think of many acclaimed academics 'off the top of my head' who are Christians] do get cheesed off with the tired old suggestion that the Christian faith is somehow old-fashioned, irrelevant, anti-progress, irrational, unscientific and so on. Such suggestions are pathetic, stupid and worthless.

Oh well Richard you go on spitting hate toward gays and we'll all get on with our lives. In your eyes, gays are diseased perverts and will all burn in hell. In my eyes gays and lesbians do me nor anyone any harm. I have many gay frends and work colleagues, the majority of whom are in serious loving relationships and aren't riddled with disease (shock horror!). Just decent human beings who want the best for their loved ones, family and friends. In short one of us.