A Christian charity in Northern Ireland will have their bank account terminated following a targeted campaign by LGBTQ activists.
Core Issues Trust (CIT) was notified by Barclays Bank in July that their accounts would be closed by September after LGBTQ activists accused the Christian ministry of practising “conversion therapy.”
The charity has reportedly been the target of a “coordinated, aggressive campaign” from LGBTQ activists since late June this year.
The campaign extended across social media platforms, resulting in Facebook and Instagram removing CIT’s videos, live broadcasts, and images. Paypal and Mailchimp also reportedly terminated the ministry’s accounts without notice or explanation.
Staff members who work at the ministry were personally harassed by the activists who sent satanic images to their mobile phones. One text message read: “Kill yourself. You old boomer ****. You’re the biggest piece of **** and I hope you drop dead. I hope you and your family are raped and killed. Do it. Kill yourself. Just do it.”
“Have you killed yourself yet ****?” a follow-up message sent hours later read.
Good morning @trussliz . Will you condemn the harassment campaign of @CoreTrust Mike Davidson? Their bank account has been shut down by @Barclays and they have been threatened with messages hoping family members are raped and killed.https://t.co/LQdaY7I0DZ pic.twitter.com/vutXQrHarM
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) July 25, 2020
A press release issued by the Christian Legal Centre states: “These incitements via social media have now been reported in detail to the Parliamentary Petitions Committee currently inviting evidence submissions of online abuse, and as Serious Incident Reports to the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland. Some of the abuse received has been reported to the police.”
CIT describes itself as a “non-profit Christian ministry supporting men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression.”
The ministry offers “talking therapy” to people who want to explore moving away from unwanted same-sex attraction and gender confusion. The organisation, however, rejects the label “conversion therapy.”
Mike Davidson, CEO of CIT said: “This is a pejorative, imposed term, coined by an American gay activist, Dr Douglas Haldeman in 1991, that names some extremes such as electro-shock and aversion techniques only ever conducted by medics, long since abandoned from the 60s, or extreme behaviours already outlawed such as ‘corrective’ rape for which there are no prosecutions in the UK.
“Because the term speaks of talking therapies and counselling as ‘pseudo-science’ in association with these extremes, to be heard defending talking therapy and counselling for unwanted same-sex attractions is then taken to be a defence of the indefensible ‘Conversion Therapy’ label. We reject this accusatory term.”
Andrea Williams CEO of Christian Concern warned “churches will be next.”
“If banks and other service providers start to placate social media campaigns by unilaterally terminating their accounts then the UK will be a very difficult place for Biblically faithful Christian ministries.
“This kind of demonisation and refusing of services to a Christian ministry is reminiscent of how Jewish businesses were treated under Nazi rule,” Williams added.
“We call on the government to put a halt to this kind of mob rule and to assert the rights of Biblically faithful Christian organisations to be serviced by businesses without facing such intolerant discrimination.”
