Canterbury Tales

Amid the discussion of who will succeed Rowan Williams as the next Archbishop of Caterbury, Brandan O'Neill makes a larger point about the level of intolerance aimed at anyone voicing the slightest objection to gay "marriage." From the Telegraph:

The extent to which gay marriage has become a measuring stick of moral decency is clear from the fate suffered by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. There was a time when Sentamu was fawned over by commentators-with-a-conscience. These right-minded folk, though essentially Godless, loved this energetic bishop and his banker-bashing, Mugabe-mauling publicity stunts. Yet as soon as he opened his gob on the matter of gay marriage, and said he was opposed to it, his stock in the chattering-class world plummeted with eye-swivelling speed. Now Sentamu is a figure of ridicule in respectable circles. He's still popular with the public, but elite opinion-formers openly scoff at the idea that he should take over from Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury. Be warned: if you take anything other than a nodding-dog approach to the issue of gay marriage, your reputation will be ripped to shreds.