CLIVE SMITH: What decade is this out-of-touch priest living in?

Rev Kelvin Holdsworth of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, said if George grew up with a love for fine young gentlemen it would help change attitudes towards gay people.

‘Change attitudes towards gay people’? What decade is he living in?

It’s not the 1980s anymore!

In general, people couldn’t care less if someone is gay. I’m sure there is the odd bit of prejudice but it’s not like there’s angry mobs forming outside Hampshire Boulevard every Saturday night.

I watched a documentary the other day about a bloke who was in love with a rollercoaster, and there’s a lady who’s given up men to have sex with ghosts.

Homosexuality is about as normal as it gets nowadays.

Praying that someone becomes gay makes about as much sense as praying away the gay.

Although with all the usual church talk of walking on water, parting seas and wrestling angels, this is only mildly less ludicrous.

If they really are intent on getting down on their knees and asking the big old sky wizard for a favour, then why not just pray for him to be a happy, healthy and decent human being who doesn’t lop the heads off his future wives.

And who is he to make those comments about someone else’s child anyway?

I’d be raging if these comments were made about my children.

Just because he’s the future king shouldn’t mean it’s open season for people’s inappropriate thoughts.

He certainly can do without some religious nut hijacking his future.

Idiotic comments like this do the church no favours at all, it’s not as if people are battering down the doors for Sunday Service anymore, is it?

He needs to leave the social commentary to others and concentrate on preaching goodwill and tolerance.

That way he might come across as less out-of-touch.

He should be ashamed of thinking such things, let alone put it in writing for the world to see. He needs to be defrocked.

MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WILL GO DOWN TO THE WIRE

The Christmas shop is under way and, despite good intentions of starting early and being organised, I know it’s going to go down to a last-minute Christmas Eve foray into town.

As someone who dislikes shopping I will be far from happy about this situation.

According to a survey a third of us Brits admit to over-spending on Christmas. I have to say, days do seem to go by where it feels like the Leonardo Dicaprio Wolf of Wall Street scene where he’s flinging money off the side of a boat.

Although the survey also found people admitted to spending more than £1,500 on average.

£1,500?! Where were they doing this survey? Wherever it was, socks and Lynx Africa sets must be shockingly expensive.

LITTLE GREEN MEN WITH MUSKETS

I’d always believed there were aliens, how can there not be with the seemingly infinite number of other planets out there?

But as I get older I’m beginning to think that there isn’t.

It just seems that supposed UFO experts are clutching at straws all the time.

Take the latest example where someone reckons they’ve found a cannonball on Mars.

‘Expert’ Scott C Waring believes they were fired at Mars in an attempt to destroy its atmosphere and therefore, kill its civilisation.

Now, I’m no expert on intergalactic warfare but I’m thinking if a race of aliens were able to get about space to attack another planet, they wouldn’t be turning up with cannons.

I suppose he thinks they sent down a landing party with muskets strapped to their backs too!