Lesbian and gay Christians have criticised secularists planning to protest at the Pope’s UK state visit later this month.

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) said it wanted those campaigning against Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit, which starts on 16th September, to “disagree with respect”.

It said: “The Protest the Pope coalition of secularist groups has opposed the trip and promised noisy protests, but progressive Christians believe that this is unhelpful and counterproductive.”

The LGCM has said it will show the Pope that his “homophobic comments affect real people” by holding a prayer vigil instead of a protest.

The British Humanist Association’s Andrew Copson told the Guardian that the LGCM failed to recognise that campaigners objected to the state aspect of the visit, not the pastoral or religious one.

“As a religious leader and a citizen of Europe, we have said he is obviously entitled to visit,” said Copson.

“As a head of a state which many see as enormously destructive of human rights and equality on the international stage it is legitimate and morally right to question him, and the idea that heads of states should receive automatic ‘respect’ because they also happen to be religious leaders we see as entirely mistaken.”

Pope Benedict has previously said he believes behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations to be “a destruction of God’s work”.

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