Peter Mullen (born 11 January 1942) is a British

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest. He is the former Rector of

St Michael, Cornhill St Michael, Cornhill, is a medieval parish church in the City of London with pre-Norman Conquest parochial foundation. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. The medieval structure was lost in the Great Fire of London, and replaced by the present bui ...

and

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Holy Sepulchre London, formerly and in some official uses Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate, is the largest Anglican parish church in the City of London. It stands on the north side of Holborn Viaduct across a crossroads from the Old Bailey, and ...

in the City of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Mullen is Chaplain to the

Honourable Company of Air Pilots The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, formerly the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was founded in 1929, and became a Livery Company in 1956. Elizabeth II granted ...

, one of the Livery Companies of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

, a largely honorific and historical post.Simpson, Aislinn (October 6, 2008)
Homosexuals should carry warning tattoos, says chaplain.
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

Life and career

Mullen graduated from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

with the degree of BA, before obtaining a PhD from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

. He was ordained into the

in 1970. He became Chaplain and Head of

Religious Education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

(RE) at Whitecroft School,

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

in 1974. In 1977 he was appointed

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Tockwith Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesda ...

and

Bilton-in-Ainsty with Bickerton Bilton-in-Ainsty with Bickerton is a civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 512, reducing to 463 at the 2011 Census. The parish contains Bilton-in-Ainsty and Bic ...

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the A ...

, where he remained until 1989. He was

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

d in 1989 by the Church of England for committing

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

with a

parishioner A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, and as a consequence had to resign from his incumbency in Yorkshire. From 1989 to 1997 he was banned from performing priestly duties. Mullen has written an article on his adultery. He became

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Michael's Cornhill and St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, and Chaplain to the Stock Exchange in 1998. He was made to retire, against his will, on his seventieth birthday in January 2012, but he remains

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

the Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...

Views

Mullen is noted for his criticism of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. Writing on his online

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, he stated that homosexuals should carry health warnings, for instance, "

Sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

may seriously damage your health". He later explained that his comments were 'satirical', and went further by saying that he has homosexual friends. Nonetheless, a spokesman for the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...

made an announcement distancing the Bishop and fellow clergy from Mullen's statements, following which these comments were removed from his blog.Staff report (October 6, 2008)
Tattoo gay men, clergyman writes.
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' He later apologised.Staff report (7 October 2008)
Priest 'sorry' for gay comments.
''

'' Mullen has also called for tax-payer funded homosexual parades to be banned, describing them as "obscene".

Ruth Gledhill Ruth Gledhill (born 1959) is an English journalist and is a former religion affairs correspondent for ''The Times'', a post she left in 2014. Gledhill was the last full-time newspaper journalist dedicated to religious affairs in the UK. She is c ...

(October 7, 2008)
Chaplain's blog calls for homosexuals to be tattooed.
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' Mullen is

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

and in March 2010, he spoke at a

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest pa ...

event in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, where he denounced the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. He has mocked

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s, saying there could be an "agreeable carnage" at the start of the annual

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

: "They usually manage to stampede and slaughter quite a few hundred of their co-religionists. Just imagine for a moment what a field day the BBC and the left-wing press in England would have if anything even remotely as bad as that happened in Vatican Square at Christmas or Easter". He added that Muslims "lend themselves to ridicule: sticking their arses in the air five times a day. How about a few little choruses, 'Randy Muslims when they die/Find 70 virgins in the sky'?" Mullen is a frequent contributor to the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''.Mullen, Peter (December 23, 1998)
Christianity Without God.
''

''Mullen, Peter (October 14, 1999
Choosing Adoption Isn't On the Pro-Choice Agenda.
''

''Mullen, Peter (September 16, 1999)
Crusading For Moral Ambiguity.
'

'' He has also written for the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' in support of preserving traditional forms of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

. Mullen has argued it should be permissible to use force against a burglar, even that resulting in death, and that burglars forfeit all their rights by their actions.Mullen, Peter (October 9, 2012)
The right to attack a burglar sounds like justice to me.
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

References

External links

St Michael's Cornhill websiteDaily Telegraph website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Peter 1942 births Living people Journalists from Liverpool Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Middlesex University 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Members of the Freedom Association Christian critics of Islam British critics of Islam