Passion play to draw crowds
Up to 10,000 people are expected to gather in the city centre on Good Friday for a dramatic retelling of the Easter story.
The annual Christ in the Centre passion play, which will be held in Humberstone Gate, will portray the events of Holy Week – from Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his trial, crucifixion and resurrection.
A cast of more than 40 amateurs will be led by Australian-born professional actor James Mathison-Kelly in the role of Jesus.
Mr Mathison-Kelly said: "The challenge to the whole cast is to honour that powerful script and explain why Jesus did what he did.
"I am always conscious that there will be people in the audience who know little or nothing of the story, so we need to tell them what it is about as well. Whenever I read the Easter story, I get a sense of energy from it. Being part of the cast makes you think about it more seriously."
The annual event, which regularly draws a crowd of up to 10,000 people, usually features a procession through the city centre before the play.
However, organisers have said that, due to a drop in funds, they have decided to drop the procession and focus on the play in Humberstone Gate instead.
The event will cost up to £40,000 to stage.
Group spokesman Jonathan Wheeler said: "We were very conscious of the economic situation and cut our cloth accordingly.
"We decided to base all the activity in Humberstone Gate so that we can invest in the staging and communications.
"We are very grateful to the people and organisations who have generously donated to the running costs of this year's event."
Canon Barry Naylor, who chairs the event's organising committee, said this year's event was about spreading a message of hope.
He said: "We know from the fabulous feedback we get every year what a special place Christ in the Centre holds in people's hearts.
"Every year it generates an extraordinary response from the audience, and reminds all those who witness it of the true meaning of Easter.
"In the current economic climate, and with so many people worrying about the future, the message of hope for the future is very relevant."
For more information, visit: www.christinthecentre.co.uk
This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:
"If we allow gay men to marry, why not siblings?"
Controversial Euro MP Roger Helmer has criticised moves to legalise gay marriage, saying: "If two men have a right to marry, how can we deny the same right to two siblings?"
Civil partnerships have been available under UK law since 2004 and give two people the same rights as marriage. However, the two processes are technically different.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said that he wants to legalise gay marriage in the UK, but Britain's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said the move would go against "natural law".
On his blog yesterday, Mr Helmer, who lives in Ashby Magna and represents the East Midlands, wrote: "Cardinal O'Brien makes the point, quite reasonably, that once you start to tamper with the institution of marriage, you get into some very murky water indeed.
"If two men can be married, why not three men? Or a two men and a woman? He could have gone further. Why not a commune? If two men have a right to marry, how can we deny the same right to two siblings? Are we to authorise incest?"
Responding to Cardinal O'Brien's claim that plans to legalise gay marriage were "a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right", Mr Helmer wrote: "Brilliant. I wish I'd thought of the phrase. Perhaps he ought to be a politician."
It comes just a few days after Mr Helmer defected from the Conservatives to join the UK Independence Party, saying that David Cameron was "too left wing".
However, his comments on gay marriage immediately came in for criticism.
Canon Barry Naylor, urban canon at Leicester Cathedral, said: "Comments like that are clearly intended to be offensive.
"I rarely agree with what David Cameron has to say, but I believe his proposal to legalise same-sex marriage would actually strengthen the institution of marriage, rather than weaken it."
Peter Adams, 65, who lives in Leicester city centre, and works with gay and lesbian people in the area, said: "Mr Helmer's comments are ridiculous. It's such an unintelligent remark to make that you can't give it any credence. There's no logical step between same-sex marriage and incest."
When asked by the Mercury whether his comments were offensive, Mr Helmer said: "I don't think so. I've nothing against homosexuals, they can do what they like.
"But marriage has been recognised for thousands of years as a bond as being between a man and a woman. It's the best environment in which to raise children."
The Very Rev Vivienne Faull, Dean of Leicester, said: "Our position is quite clear; the Church recognises arrangements made by the state for two people of the same sex to be in a civil partnership.
"However, the Church itself only recognises marriage as between a man and woman exclusively.
"The only way to change this is through the General Synod of the Church of England.
"However, a debate on this issue has not been scheduled yet."
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Marriages and civil partnerships
Legally, civil partners must be treated the same as married couples on a wide range of legal matters such as inheritance tax.
However a same-sex couple who have had a civil partnership cannot currently claim to be married.
Campaigners, such as Peter Tatchell, say that having a two-tier system for recognising the partnership between two people is a form of “apartheid”.
The Government could overhaul the law on marriage itself, allowing same-sex couples to have civil weddings and declare themselves “married”, rather than simply in a civil partnership.
Any proposal to introduce same-sex marriages would refer to civil marriages, in register offices and other licensed venues, rather than church weddings.
No church or religious group could be forced to host a civil partnership ceremony against their will under the Equality Act.
