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British Ambassador to Poland Blasted for Promoting "Gay Rights" in Strongly Pro-Family Nation

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

WARSAW, June 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Poland's civil rights ombudsman, Janusz Kochanowski, said British ambassador Ric Todd was "being improper and doesn't understand the role of a diplomat" following the disclosure that Todd gave homosexual activist leaders a copy of the "UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights," translated into Polish, earlier this week.

The booklet is an adaptation of a political correctness manual for UK civil servants produced by the British Foreign Office, and the act was seen as a promotion by the ambassador of the planned "gay pride" march due to take place in Warsaw on Saturday.

"Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority," Mr. Kochanowski told The Daily Mail. "He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses."

Slawomir Skiba, editor of Polonia Christiana, a Catholic newspaper published by the Polish Association of Christian Culture, agreed. "The ambassador has demonstrated an extreme lack of diplomacy and absolute ignorance of the values by which the vast majority of our society lives."

He added that Todd should confine himself to represent the interests of Britain, not the "homosexual lobby."

Last year Todd was criticized for flying the rainbow flag of the "gay rights" movement beside the Union Jack flag in front of the British embassy in Warsaw.

Asked at the time whether he would raise the rainbow flag at the British embassies in Saudi Arabia or Iran, Mr Todd said, "I have made a judgment about what I should do in Poland, and in my opinion this is the appropriate thing to do in this country. I am not interfering in Polish politics or society nor am I criticizing it."

"The UK remains committed to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people overseas," Todd said. "This small gesture is a symbol of the British embassy's commitment to equality and acceptance for all."

A British foreign office spokesman said that it "does have a policy of promoting LGBT rights abroad."

Poland is considered to be one of the most Catholic societies in Europe, with relatively low rates of abortion, divorce and teenage pregnancy. The country has constantly resisted pressure from the EU to acquiesce to the acceptance of the homosexual agenda.

President Lech Kazcynski has said that indiscriminate approval of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights would "affect the accepted moral order in Poland."

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