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That would be a way to change the Church of England's anti-LGBT policies, says Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth.
A Scottish clergyman is getting attention and criticism for a blog post suggesting that people pray that the U.K.'s Prince George -- the 4-year-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton -- grow up to be gay.
That would be a way to make the Church of England change its policy on same-sex marriage, which is currently not allowed in the church, wrote Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth, a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church, which like the Church of England is part of the global Anglican Communion.
In the post, which Holdsworth wrote more than a year ago but retweeted this week, he listed ways to make the Church of England more inclusive, such as political activism and forming an international LGBT network. "If people don't want to engage in campaigning in this way, they do in England have another unique option, which is to pray in the privacy of their hearts (or in public if they dare) for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman," he added. "A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen. Who knows whether that might be sooner than things might work out by other means?"
Holdsworth retweeted the post because of the news of another upcoming royal wedding, that of Prince Harry, William's brother, to actress Meghan Markle. "This quote seems to be getting a lot of attention because it was picked up by a number of antigay campaigners in the Church of England," he told the BBC. "It is a shame that the happy news about the royal wedding has been hijacked in this way."
Among those objecting to the post were Bishop Gavin Ashenden of the Christian Episcopal Church, an Anglican province that opposes same-sex marriage. "To use prayer as a mechanism for wishing this on Prince George is an unkind and destructive thing to do," he told the BBC. "It doesn't have the prince's best interests at heart, but uses him as a gender-political football to please 1.7 percent of the population. What is especially odd and incongruous is the fact that it is suddenly OK to pray for someone to be gay, but totally unacceptable to pray for them to be free from being gay and to resume a sexuality that was in tune with their biology."
Susie Leafe, director of a conservative evangelical group called Reform, told the BBC she "was very disappointed that he was prepared to bring a child in to this same-sex marriage debate," adding, "As a Christian minister he should pray for all people to come to know the love of Christ, rather than a fine young gentleman."
Several people voiced criticism on Twitter as well, Time reports. "Prince George is four years old," wrote Twitter user MadWorldOfSam. "Praying for someone to be gay is just as bad as praying for them to be straight. Whoever he is sexually attracted to when he grows up shouldn't matter. Damaging this kid by putting pressure on him to be gay will do more harm than good."
Guardian journalist Chris Godfrey had a pro-LGBT take on the controversy, tweeting, "If your religion needs a future monarch to be gay for it to change its bigoted attitudes then your religion needs to find Jesus."
Prince George is third in line to the throne, after his grandfather, Prince Charles, and his father, Prince William. The monarch is also head of the Church of England.
This isn't the first time there has been debate about young George's sexuality, This summer, a picture of him in a pose some considered effeminate led a number of social media users to dub him a "gay icon" and a number of others to object to that description.
Civil same-sex marriage ceremonies are legal in England, Scotland, and Wales, which along with Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom. However, the Church of England will not perform such marriages. Several other churches within the Anglican Communion allow them, including the U.S. Episcopal Church. Holdsworth's denomination, the Scottish Episcopal Church, leaves the matter up to individual clergy members.
