The Church's freedom in the U.K. may be severely threatened by a controversial equality bill according to a new report by "the leading charity – backed by a legal opinion from a leading QC". It is feared that the bill will make it illegal for the Catholic Church and other Catholic organizations and charities to hire and fire based on allegiance to Church teachings. For example, a Catholic charity may be prohibited from firing openly gay employees and they may be forced to hire non-Catholics. Also, the Church may be prevented from hiring only male, celibate priests. The fact that the Church has important reasons for maintaining priestly celibacy (click here) or the fact that the male gender is essential for the valid transmission of priestly orders (click here) may not prevent such practices from being considered "illegal" under the controversial equality bill that is likely to severely threaten religious freedom in the country.
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