Archbishop sued for anti-discrimination pleads for MPs to pass ‘strong’ religious freedom bill

The Hobart Catholic Archbishop hauled before an anti-discrimination body for sharing church teaching on gay marriage says the federal legislation should not be watered down.

Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart in St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart. Picture - Matthew Newton

An Archbishop hauled before an anti-discrimination body for sharing church teaching on gay marriage is pleading with MPs not to water-down proposed federal religious freedom legislation.

Hobart Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous said overreach by state anti-discrimination laws was undermining freedom of religious expression and free speech.

Further changes to protect gay students and staff within religious schools were “unnecessary”, he said.

“In our institutions we have a lot of people – students in our schools or doctors and nurses in our hospitals, staff in our nursing homes – who aren’t Catholic and who may have personal views different to what the Catholic Church believes.

“We respect their right to hold personal views. We don’t require them to change. But we do require of them at a professional level to recognise that they are working within a Catholic institution which has certain beliefs.”

Speaking out on the eve of the parliamentary debate amid division on the issue within Coalition ranks, he accused opponents of the Religious Discrimination Bill of spreading misinformation.

He said Catholic schools had no intention of following Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College in requiring contracts – since abandoned – allowing the expulsion of openly gay or transgender children.

“The feeling that this legislation would somehow mean that the church could persecute someone who doesn’t hold the same views is not the case at all,” he said.

Instead, the legislation was “very much needed” to address an erosion of religious rights and tolerance in Australia, driven by state anti-discrimination laws.

In 2015, Archbishop Porteous was subject to an anti-discrimination process over the distribution of an anti-gay marriage brochure.

While the case was ultimately dropped, Archbishop Porteous said it and similar actions had a “chilling effect” on open debate.

“Because that case was never resolved, I’m not sure if tomorrow someone will cite me again,” he said.

“That’s why it’s so important that we have some legislation that recognises the right of a person to express their deeply held religious beliefs, in a way that’s respectful and where there’s no intention to incite violence.”

He also “very much hoped” the federal legislation would protect Catholic aged homes and hospitals which refused to be a part of state voluntary euthanasia schemes.

Opponents of the federal bill complain it will override Tasmania’s “gold standard” anti-discrimination legislation, which goes further than most, making it an offence to “offend” or “insult” someone on the basis of certain attributes.

Archbishop Porteous said this interference with state law was “a necessary thing”.

“In a democracy, one of the things that is very highly prized is the right of people to express what they believe, through often robust debate,” he said. “That’s how we are able to resolve issues and decide on a path to take.”