The Principal of Sydney’s prestigious Scots College has apologised for homophobic comments made by a visiting pastor during a recent school assembly.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald principal Ian Lambert (pictured) issued the apology after multiple students and staff raised concern about the content of a speech delivered by Presbyterian Reverend David Maher.

Reverend Maher spoke to staff and students at an assembly on 13th June, later staff and students voiced their concern that the sermon had homophobic and misogynistic overtones including the phrase “Love is love, cat food is cat food”.

‘Love is Love’ was a key phrase used during Australia’s campaign for marriage equality, while recent opposition to the acceptance of transgender people has led to the urban myth that people have begun identifying as cats.

Speaking to students Dr Lambert said the school valued diversity.

“I would like to say, I think it is important to nip it in the bud, to any boys who were upset and offended by comments made yesterday I would like to apologise to you. The Scots College values the rich diversity of this college.”

In April the school was forced to deny it would be asking students about their sexual history after their governing body The Presbyterian Church of Australia wrote in a submission to a government inquiry about the need for religious schools to be able to discriminate against gay students, saying students who were homosexual would not be suitable for leadership roles.

TV host Hamish McDonald, who is a graduate of the school, asked how the school would ever know about a student’s sexual history.

The thing that strikes me is there’s a practical side to this. Are you seriously going to ask 16 and 17-year-old kids vying to be a school prefect or head prefect ‘Are you gay?’”, Macdonald asked on The Project.

OIP Staff

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