The city of Belfast was home to anti-homophobia protests at the weekend, after a local church advertised details of an international conference they're hosting which promotes that homosexuality can be "cured" using psychotherapy and prayer.
Pro-gay activists from the Queer Youth Network and the Stop Conversion Therapy
Taskforce (Scott), which was conceived by GT journalist Patrick Strudwick, began rallying against Ballynahinch Baptist
Church, who are hosting the event - organised by Core Issues, an evangelical Christian group in Northern
Ireland which claims to
have "saved" numerous homosexual Christians.
Rev Mario Bergner, a Chicago-based Anglican preacher who claims to have been cured of AIDS
and homosexuality through prayer, is the main orator at the summit.
Strudwick, who writes a monthly feature for GT magazine and recently detailed an expose of conversion therapy in The Independent, said: "The message of our protest is simple. Love
needs no cure. We want to remind the young people in the conference in
the midst of so-called treatment that they are healthy, normal,
valuable people; they are perfect how they are; they don't need to try
to change something unchangeable and they can be happy being who they
really are."
Mike Davidson, the founder of Core
Issues, said the conference was an opportunity for Christians who are
struggling with their sexuality. "The focus of the conference is on
those who struggle with sexual brokenness and who want examine those
issues within a Biblical context," he said. "It's not primarily a
conference for therapists, neither does it deal with issues around
therapy."