Three hermits living in a presbytery in the Diocese of Northampton say they have been asked to leave by the bishop following complaints about the behaviour of one of their number who regularly preaches and leaflets against homosexuality.
The self-styled [sic] “Black Hermits” led by Br Damon Kelly say they have been told they have until 20 July to leave the presbytery at St Patrick’s, Millais Road, Corby.
Br Damon was arrested last December under Section 5 of the Public Order Act for issuing leaflets that were considered by Cambridge police to be of a homophobic nature but did not constitute a criminal offence. His lawyer has said distributing material on the street is protected by freedom of speech although it is understood Brother Damon enters private property to put leaflets through letterboxes.
NB the order is registered in Scotland for tax purposes. Thanks to a kind reader who corrected us.
Link to Table...
3 comments:
Thank you for this, and for all the good work you do with your blog. I ought to mention that the Diocese of Northampton is in England.
I suppose walking up somebody's front garden path to post something through a letter box could be regarded as trespass. I doubt if any court would ever entertain such a claim and might rule that a letter box in one's front door or even a notice saying "Beware of the dog" is an indication that one expects things to be delivered through one's letter box and one has therefore invited someone delivering such to walk up one's garden path. I have read somewhere that in the US only officially delivered mail should be put in one's letter box but that is certainly not the case in the UK.
It is alleged that the Bishop has said that the actions of these hermits has brought the diocese into disrepute. Apparently the Bishop has not commented. It is so often the case that no explanation is given and this just leads to confusion and scandal as to why these hermits are being ejected and whether the Bishop is upholding Catholic doctrine or not. This leads people to suspect the worst.
Yes in the United States it is a crime to put anything in a mail box that has not gone through the postal system and has the correct postage. The mailbox is considered federal property.
But many people have second boxes attached to their normal mailboxes. These secondary boxes are used for leafleting and other non-posted material.
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