Anti-Gay “Sinister Monk” Arrested in Cambridge

From the Pink News:

Monk arrested for distributing homophobic leaflets is head of Catholic charity

A monk who was earlier this week arrested for distributing leaflets across Cambridge claiming that gay people are “corrupting young children”, is the director of a Catholic charity which spends tens of thousands of pounds each year.

…PinkNews has discovered that [Damon Jonah] Kelly, who is actually a monk, is the director of the Scotland based charity the Black Hermits.

The Pink News notes that the organisation exists to “promote Roman Catholic religion” and aims “to establish a Roman Catholic monastic centre on the Island of Mull.”

Details about Kelly follow earlier reports of a “sinister monk” distributing leaflets in Cambridge in April, and in Brighton, Market Harborough and Lincoln over the summer. As the Leicester Mercury reported in August:

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I saw the monk in Bath Street, followed by two angry people.”

There was also a rumour of an assistant:

A police spokeswoman said… one person who called in to complain said the monk appeared to be with another man, in normal clothing.

She said. “One was in his in late 30s. The other was dressed in a black monk’s outfit.

“Officers attended the area but could not find anyone…”

One recipient posted an image of one leaflet, entitled Homosexualism: A Few Points, to Twitter. This week’s arrest, however, appears to relate to a second publication, called The Works of DarknessThere’s also a third leaflet, a seasonable item titled Christmas, Christ and Anti-Christ. No publisher’s details are apparent, and all three have headings printed in a medievalizing font.

“The Black Hermits” are obscure – there are no details on-line other than official filings on charity and company websites, which show that the name was registered as a company in 2005. However, it should be noted that Kelly is just one of several directors, alongside a nun, a priest, and – rather unexpectedly – a local Mull grandee who was the sister of the late Pamela Harriman. It’s not clear why the Pink News describes him as the “head” of the charity, and there’s no reason to infer that his behaviour (which he’s admitted to) has anything to do with the organisation.