Why the new equalities bill MUST not have exceptions

It is widely known that Ruth Kelly, the current equality secretary, is a member of Opus Dei, the hardline Catholic group which views homosexuality as a sin, so it is of little surprise that the media are reporting that the latest equality bill is to contain measures to allow the Catholic church to opt out of certain equalitarian clauses, such as refusing the right of gay couples to adopt children from Catholic adoption agencies, and refusing openly gay pupils into Catholic schools.

At the very same time, a debate is steamrolling about how much the Islamic populace of this country should do to integrate into British society. However, if it is being decided that a 'multiculturalism' of separate cultures has failed, and that we must all live under a homogenous culture, why are the Catholics, and not the Muslims, allowed exceptions?

I am a big champion of any equality bill, because in my opinion, forcing people of different beliefs and cultures together fosters understanding and co-operation. The alternative is to tolerate bigotry and indeed, to excuse it. Why can't we tell the Catholic church that it is not acceptable for them to assume that homosexuals are predators who should not be allowed to rear children? This country has a tradition of not bowing to religious authority when constructing its laws, why now, centuries after the enlightenment and our charming fascist Puritan society under the Cromwells, are we allowing this to happen?

Ministers are right to believe that separate communities are not the way forward. Yet they would do well to consider that such communities can emerge from people of any colour or faith, and they must legislate consistently in this area.