Lesley Pilkington was effectively barred from her professional register after attempting to convert a homosexual man in a therapy session at her home.So now Mrs Pilkington is the victim and wants professional recognition and approval to practice her brand of psychotherapy, which has been shown to be destructive in some cases and ineffective over all.
Her patient turned out to be a gay rights journalist, who had secretly recorded the sessions and then reported her to her professional body. Mrs Pilkington, a committed Christian, was subsequently found guilty of professional misconduct.
The therapy practised by Mrs Pilkington had been described as "absurd" by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and roundly condemned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
But ahead of her appeal against the BACP ruling, Mrs Pilkington has received backing from the Rt Rev Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
In a letter to her professional body, Lord Carey – along with a number of senior figures – suggests Mrs Pilkington is herself a victim of entrapment whose therapy should be supported.
Amongst the co-signers of the letter are Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester and the Rt Rev Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes. You may recall that Bishop Benn compared the campaign for women bishops in the Church of England to the storm clouds gathering over Europe in 1939.
In the course of the type of psychotherapy practiced by Mrs Pilkington and her cohorts:
Homosexual men are sent on weekends away with heterosexual men to "encourage their masculinity" and "in time to develop healthy relationships with women", said Mrs Pilkington.When will Lord Carey cease his foolishness and fade away into the quiet retirement he so justly deserves?
Picture from Wikipedia.
Thanks to Lapin for the the link to the Telegraph.
Here, here!
ReplyDeleteMethinks putting the current bishop of Lewes out to pasture would be useful. He also endorsed and then revoked his endorsement of a booklet by Stephen Green which, among other things, sees the criminalization of marital rape as wrong. http://symonhill.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/wallace-benn-and-stephen-green-the-confusion-continues/
ReplyDeleteThanks, theme.
ReplyDeleteErp, there is the endorsement matter, too. Time for the pasture for Bp Benn, though I doubt he'd stay quietly if he was sent there.
I think I feel a chorus of "Shepherds may safely graze" coming on, and heartily endorse the swift empolyment of pasturage for all three of these.
ReplyDeleteTobias, Lapin tells me that Lord Carey and Bp Nazir-Ali graze in pastures on our side of the big pond, too, in Virginia and South Carolina.
ReplyDelete♫ "Come sheep, come
I'll count you one by one..." ♫
This must be the origin of the concept, "the grass is always greener..." I think Virginia and So Carolina provide ample amounts of the "long green" for furrin' bishops to nibble on...
ReplyDeleteGod created masculinity?
ReplyDeleteTobias, the concept is that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but considering that England is an island...
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, not just masculinity, but muscular masculinity to make muscular Christians. Didn't you know?
Well England has long exported its religious extremists to the colonies. It is odd that Chichester of which Lewes is part of is one of the more conservative dioceses despite containing Brighton, one of England's more liberal cities.
ReplyDeleteAccording to wikipedia Benn plans to retire this year. He may be swimming the Atlantic...
Wallace Benn, who is, fwiw, the only C of E bishop who refuses to wear a mitre (popish) is under investigation on charges of enabling pedophile priests. His Wiki page is brief and scrubbed clean.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else experiencing persistent "The characters you entered didn't match the word verification" annoyance?
Lapin, I'm having to post and repost comments at other blogs, too. It's annoying.
ReplyDeleteNazir-Ali was one of two shortlisted candidates for Canterbury in 2002. Which we might occasionally keep in mind when we hammer Rowan. NR boycotted the 2008 Lambeth Conference to protest the presence of Yankee Homo-lovers.
ReplyDeleteThird attempt to post; third wv. Remember this happening three or four years back.
Of course God created masculinity! And femininity -- and neuter, in the case of some German nouns!
ReplyDeleteErp, Brighton, the liberal island (literally!) in a conservative diocese reminds me of New Orleans, a liberal island (almost literally) in the conservative Gret Stet of Loosiana.
ReplyDeleteLapin, I never call for Rowan's resignation. Who would follow him?
Hi, Deacon Scott. Yes, I forgot neuter. ;-)
I think Giles Fraser might be a god Archbishop of Canterbury - and way more media savvy than the incumbent.
ReplyDeleteAnother might be the Bishop of Truro - the only bishop so far to have the courage to buck Rowan on his Cavenantal destruction plan.
Malcolm, either man for ABC works for me. Unfortunately, we don't get to have a say.
ReplyDeleteAccording to wikipedia Benn plans to retire this year. He may be swimming the Atlantic...
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout half-way?
But seriously... STFU, ignorant (when they're not bigoted), bigoted (when they're not ignorant) phobes!
I don't actually understand who, in Britain, these people think they're speaking to.
ReplyDeleteThe only ones taken in by it are already homophobic, the rest of the country will just laugh.
The real victims are the poor souls who believe they need to be saved from themselves because they have internalised those false values.
JCF, we have Carey and Nazir-Ali, and we don't need Benn added to the mix.
ReplyDeleteErika, I believe these people would speak if no one listened, but it's the emotional damage to vulnerable LGTB persons that is so unfortunate.
Thank you, Erika, for reminding us who the true victims are. I doubt the sheep can safely graze with shepherds like these around.
ReplyDeleteI am not yet ready to absolve Carey for the 1988 Lambeth Conference when things began to get ugly. That may mark when I began to question my sense of rejoicing in being Anglican. Now I do so in the sense of being a Yank: I still believe in the ideals though I lament the reality.
I still believe in the ideals though I lament the reality.
ReplyDeleteTrue.
I don't know much about the Abp of York, but he's definitely a no-homo guy, as this report of his views on equal marriage and the Cameron "dictatorship" shows:
ReplyDeletehttp://joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/01/britain-archbishop-compares-prime.html
Which sounds exactly like our GOP types declaring Obama a dictator, busily engaged in a war on religion (and a "war on Texas," too).
York is definitely afflicted with homophobia. I know a good bit about the ABY, but I am only one person, and I can't cover all the anti-gay folks in the Church of England. I can't even cover all our home-grown homophobes.
ReplyDelete