Long-time readers of this site are aware of St-Matthew-in-the-City church in Auckland, New Zealand. They’re known for their support of equal rights for the LGBT community and putting up the best billboards ever.

Like these:

Reverend Glynn Cardy, the vicar of the church (at least through October) just spoke out in favor of the new gay marriage law with words we’re *so* not used to hearing in America:

… Cardy said that with the passing of the law, the state had moved well ahead of the church. … “I think the church for many years has been seen as a model that tries to promote good values in society and I think the church has done that well in times in pointing our different issues of justice and promoting honesty and kindness,” he said. “I think that society and science have said that gay people should be treated like anyone else and if the church continues to discriminate the confidence society has in it will diminish.” He said the church could be left behind “as a relic” and needed to change to have society’s confidence as a moral body to be listened to.

Other church leaders interviewed for the article had nothing but contempt for the guy:

Anglican Church spokesman Lloyd Ashton said he didn’t want to comment because Reverend Cardy “says what he says” and he didn’t want to engage with it. Ray Coster, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, said: “By upholding the historic Christian understanding of marriage as the loving, faithful union of a man and a woman, we are being faithful to what we understand Christ is calling us to as a church.”

Reverend says gay people should be treated with love and respect… and his “brothers in Christ” can’t even bring themselves to say, “I agree.” How pathetic is that?

As reader Dave writes, “I am still not convinced to join up” with Cardy’s church — and I’m in the same boat — but wouldn’t it be nice if what Cardy said was the norm instead of something worthy of a news article?



