Catholic Church to stop gay-friendly Soho Masses

Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster

wikipedia-James Bradley

The Catholic Church is to stop gay-friendly Masses in the 18th-century church in Soho, central London, which has been hosting them twice a month for the past six years. 

"The Mass is always to retain its essential character as the highest prayer of the whole Church," said the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols on January 2, adding that gay Catholics should attend Mass in their local parishes rather than going to separate services. 

The decision on the "Soho Masses" came after Pope Benedict XVI, as well as bishops in Britain and France, sharply criticized same-sex marriages. The Vatican teaches that gay sex is sinful but homosexuals should be respected. 

The Our Lady of the Assumption church in Soho will after the planned reform become a parish for disaffected Anglicans who became Catholics in protest against discussion in their Church to allow female and gay bishops.