An independent report has found that St Thomas Philadelphia church in Sheffield promoted and supported so-called conversion therapy between 2014 and 2019. Conservative candidate Miriam Cates was a member of the church between 2003 and 2018, and a trustee from 2016 to 2018. While the BBC has not found evidence that Cates had direct knowledge of gay conversion therapy, the report found that it was openly discussed and part of the church’s culture during the time she was a member. Cates has denied endorsing gay conversion therapy.
The Church of England’s Diocese of Sheffield commissioned the investigation after Matt Drapper, a gay man, complained of an “exorcism” ritual that took place in the church in 2014 – before Cates was a trustee. Drapper’s formal complaint was not submitted until November 2019, after Cates had left the church. All aspects of the complaint were upheld by the investigation team, which completed its report in February 2024.
The report concluded that at the time of the exorcism, the church “endorsed and supported conversion practices” and believed “prayers of ‘deliverance’ for homosexuals were not uncommon”. The report also found that exorcisms were openly discussed in the congregation and there were celebrations when an “adult in their family, who had been ‘delivered from the sin of homosexuality’”. Cates was a director and trustee at the charity behind the church from September 2016 to September 2018 and had safeguarding responsibilities for those who attended.
Despite criticisms of conversion therapy, Cates, while serving as a member of Parliament, was a vocal opponent of proposed legislation to ban the practice. The BBC understands that she was part of a group of MPs who lobbied Chancellor Rishi Sunak to drop such proposals. During her time as trustee of the church, courses on “inner healing” and “deliverance” were still being hosted, according to documents seen by the BBC. A spokesperson for the Network Church Sheffield, which replaced St Thomas Philadelphia church’s leadership, stated that “significant lessons” were being learned from past mistakes
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