Christian human rights organisation Voice for Justice UK (VfJUK) has raised serious concerns in regards to the National Trust after a Catholic filmmaker was denied filming permission at a Christian site.
Tensions arose after Christian Holden requested permission to film at St Cuthbert’s Cave near Belford, Northumberland. St Cuthbert is the patron saint of Northumbria and is traditionally believed to have been laid to rest within the cave in 875 AD. The site is managed by the National Trust, a heritage organisation.
Holden was producing a movie on ‘The Way of St Cuthbert’, a historic path that follows St Cuthbert’s journey from Melrose Abbey in Scotland to Lindisfarne, off the coast of .
For reasons that remain unclear, VfJUK said the National Trust refused to present Holden permission to film within the historic cave.
Initially Holden was told the Trust had a policy against filming with “religious affiliation”, VfJUK said. However subsequently a Trust spokesperson said that the group does “not have a proper policy about religious filming at our places.”
Voice for Justice UK has raised concerns that the National Trust can have discriminated on the premise of religion.
The group said in an announcement, “VfJUK warns that the wording indicates discrimination and raises troubling questions. The refusal is available in the wake of wider public debate in regards to the Trust’s direction and priorities.
“The organisation has been criticised in recent times for sidelining Christian heritage in its public programming and internal culture.”
VfJUK said that the National Trust’s actions could fall foul of the Equality Act 2010 and that it had written to its Director-General, Hilary McGrady, asking for an evidence and an apology for Holden, in addition to “appropriate reparation for the discriminatory decision”.
Commenting on the matter, a National Trust spokesperson said, “We are reviewing what has happened on this case. We welcome everyone to the places in our care and supply space for people to come back together and rejoice their culture and heritage.
“We are also proud to take care of historic chapels and churches, a few of that are still used for worship today, in addition to other sites of non secular significance. We wouldn’t have a proper policy about religious filming at our places.”
 Christian human rights organisation Voice for Justice UK (VfJUK) has raised serious concerns in regards to the National Trust...){kind=link}