God is bigger than...

The latest links come in from Butterflies and Wheels. God is bigger then Amnesty International, according to the head of the US Catholic Bishops Conference:

A statement from the US Bishops' Conference said promoting access to abortion services undermines Amnesty's moral credibility, and divides the global work to protect human life and human dignity.

Bishop Skylestad said true commitment to women's rights puts does not pit one against their unborn children, but "calls us to advocate on behalf of both".

Amnesty has devalued itself simply by adopting a political agenda rather than supporting prisoners of conscience, and have created this rift needlessly. Other organisations campaign for abortion. Some people have called Amnesty's actions "mission creep". They aren't, they are mission change. Their original platform should have led to support for a persecuted anti-abortion campaigner, were there such a thing. Whatever your views, you should be able to express them without imprisonment or torture. And they've managed to make even me, a militant secularist, atheist supporter of abortion (as the least of available evils), sympathise with the Catholic bishops. Smart move, Amnesty.

Meanwhile, an Irish Sikh won't take up his job with the Garda (police) because he has been told to wear a standard issue hat, rather than a turban, on duty:

An association of Sikh police officers in London has strongly criticised the decision.

The Metropolitan Police Sikh Association said An Garda Siochana's uniform policy was 40 years behind the United Kingdom.

"The question is not one of cultural integration, rather of religious rights and freedom to practise an individual's faith, regardless of jurisdiction," the group said.

Sikhs believe... well, they hold that...

Oh bollocks. I don't give a shit what they believe. Equal treatment before the law. If a Catholic doctor can't take a job in a hospital because he won't perform abortions, he can piss off. And if a Sikh won't wear a policeman's hat, he can't join the police. Simple. It's time the religious were made to give ground, and not the rest of us.

God is bigger than Amnesty International, but that's the fault of Amnesty themselves. It never used to be the case. But God is not bigger than the law, and never should be.