Latest news with #MatthewDrapper
ITV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Conversion therapy: First British person paid damages by church for exorcism of ‘gay demons'
ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand spoke to Matthew Drapper who was put through conversion therapy and received a five-figure compensation from the church. A man has been paid compensation for an exorcism which attempted to rid him of 'gay demons' in what is believed to be the first legal settlement of its kind in the UK. Speaking on camera for the first time, Matthew Drapper told ITV News he was led to believe demons had left his mouth during the intense prayer session at St Thomas Philadelphia Church in Sheffield in 2014. "They said that one of the reactions you'll have is that when people are praying for you to get rid of the demonic influence, you'll want to stop. And that's a sign that you should carry on and that you should push through. And they said you might have a physical reaction", he said describing the prayer session. Following an independent report by Barnardos in 2023 which upheld complaints by Mr Drapper, the church has now paid him a five-figure sum in compensation for the harm caused by the exorcism. Since ITV News first investigated conversion practices in 2018, successive governments have promised to ban them. But despite repeated pledges no law has yet been brought forward. ITV News has been told the Labour government still has no timeframe for outlining a bill to ban conversion therapy, after committing to one in both its 2024 manifesto and last year's King's Speech. ITV News also understands the Prime Minister recommitting to a ban at a reception in No10 to celebrate Pride, but no details were given. Campaigners for a ban hope Mr Drapper's case will act as another form of deterrent, with the potential for many more legal cases to be brought against churches which practice conversion therapy. Richard Scorer, who represented Mr Drapper, told ITV News that the win would "lay down a marker that if people are harmed as a result of practises like this, then there is the potential to take action and seek accountability for that". ITV News understands that a bill drafted by civil servants and the Equalities Minister Dame Nia Griffith has reached No10 for consideration, but hasn't progressed any further. It is understood that sticking points remain around religious freedoms, the question of whether someone can 'consent' to conversion therapy, as well as what role parents should be allowed to play in the case of children who may be questioning their sexuality or gender identity. It is also understood the government is carefully considering the recent Supreme Court judgement on the definition of a woman before proceeding with a ban, as well as requesting more evidence of current conversion practices. Speaking on Thursday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted the Government would sill deliver a ban. Much of this frustrates campaigners, who argue these points have already been considered at length by previous governments, causing unnecessary delay. But those who oppose a full-scale ban on a variety of grounds believe a ban could have unintended consequences, such as stifling freedom of religion or preventing constructive conversations about gender identity with parents and teachers.
Extra.ie
16-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Gay man wins big payout after church performs 'exorcism' on him
A gay man has won a five-figure payout after the Church of England performed an exorcism in an attempt to try to turn him 'straight'. 37-year-old Matthew Drapper, who was volunteering at St Thomas Philadelphia, Sheffield, in England, back in 2014, was told he had come under 'demonic possession' due to his 'sexual impurity'. He had been taking part in a weekend event held at the church when a husband and wife at the event, told him that performing the ritual would rid him of his homosexuality, thus 'releasing demons' from his body. St Thomas Philadelphia in Sheffield. Pic: Google Street View During the 'exorcism', the couple, who were prayer leaders at the church, stood over him and said he had to 'break agreements with Hollywood and the media' as these were causing him to have 'gay feelings'. Mr Drapper said when he looks back on that time, 'it seems like something out of a horror movie' and that the whole experience left him in a state of depression He told The Times newspaper: 'For someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying. But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.' Matthew Drapper. Pic: Instagram Mr Drapper said the whole experience caused him to lose his Christian faith and over time, led him to leave the church in 2016, before making a formal complaint some three years later. He had initially requested an apology from the church, but they said there was 'no evidence' to substantiate his claims, but afterwards the Diocese of Sheffield, in agreement with the complainant, asked the Barnardos charity to investigate in 2021. Mr Drapper has since been awarded an undisclosed five-figure sum from the Church of England.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Gay man wins five-figure payout after Church of England gave him 'exorcism' to try and turn him straight
A gay man has won a five-figure payout after he received an 'exorcism' at a Church of England parish in an attempt to try and turn him straight. Matthew Drapper, 37, was volunteering at St Thomas Philadelphia, Sheffield, in 2014 when he was told he had come under 'demonic possession' due to his 'sexual impurity'. He had been in attendance at a weekend event held at the church when a husband and wife told him that performing the ritual would rid him of his homosexuality, thus releasing demons from his body. During the exorcism, the couple, who were prayer leaders at the church, stood over him and said he had to 'break agreements with Hollywood and the media' as these were causing him to have gay feelings. Mr Drapper said when looking back 'it seems like something out of a horror movie' and that the encounter left him 'empty' and in a state of depression. He told The Times: 'For someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying. But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.' Mr Drapper said this caused him to lose his Christian faith over time and led him to leave the church in 2016 before he made a formal complaint three years later. He had requested an apology from the church but they initially claimed there was 'no evidence to substantiate' the claims - leading the Diocese of Sheffield, in agreement with Mr Drapper, to request Barnardo's charity to investigate in 2021. A review published by Barnardo's last year said Mr Drapper's claims were a 'supported fact' which they say 'was in our view a form of exorcism'. An extract of the report read: 'From the evidence available to us it is our view that the session took place as described by [Mr Drapper] and prayers were administered with the intention of changing his sexual identity.' Mr Drapper then launched a legal claim against St Thomas Philadelphia which resulted in the five-figure payout. After receiving an out-of-court settlement, he said he 'would have liked to have this matter heard in open court' but was told by insurers that his claim was beyond the legal time limit and that any processes lodged would be 'lengthy'. Representing Mr Drapper, Richard Scorer said his client's victory 'demonstrates that churches which engage in these abhorrent homophobic practices may face legal claims and damages awards'. After the Barnardo's review was published, the church said: 'We have accepted the outcomes of the first investigation and are saddened that eight years ago one of our community was not cared for in the way we would have liked. We sincerely apologised to them for this.'
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- The Guardian
Gay man subjected to ‘exorcism' at Sheffield church receives compensation
A gay man has been paid compensation from a Church of England parish after he was subjected to an 'exorcism' to purge him of his homosexuality, it has been reported. Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, in 2014 when he was invited to an 'encounter God weekend' at the 'contemporary, welcoming church', the Times reported. Drapper was told 'sexual impurity' had allowed demons to enter his body and that an exorcism was to be performed. During the incident he was instructed to 'break agreements with Hollywood and the media' that led him into an ungodly lifestyle. He said he was left deeply distressed after the exorcism, which was conducted by a married couple who were 'prayer leaders'. He felt so depressed and 'empty' that he considered taking his own life. Drapper told the Times: 'Looking back it seems like something out of a horror movie – for someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying. But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.' He left the church in 2016 and three years later made a formal complaint about the exorcism and requested an apology from St Thomas Philadelphia, which was supposed to operate under the safeguarding rules of the diocese of Sheffield. St Thomas initially claimed there was no evidence to the complaint but after Drapper pursued the issue, in 2021 the church commissioned Barnardo's to investigate. Last year, the charity published its review, which found it was a 'supported fact' that Drapper was subjected to a prayer session that 'was in our view a form of exorcism'. After publication of the review, Drapper made a legal claim against St Thomas Philadelphia which resulted in an out-of-court settlement and payment of a five-figure sum. The Guardian has contacted St Thomas Philadelphia for comment. After publication of the Barnardo's report, the church said: 'We have accepted the outcomes of the first investigation and are saddened that one of our community was not cared for in the way we would have liked. We sincerely apologised to them for this.'
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Telegraph
Gay man wins payout over church ‘exorcism'
A gay man has won a five-figure payout from a Church of England parish where he was given an exorcism to rid him of homosexuality. Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, in 2014 when the exorcism took place. His compensation is believed to be the first of its kind. Mr Drapper, who is no longer a Christian, was told by a couple at a church event that he had come under 'demonic possession' because of 'sexual impurity'. The husband and wife, who were responsible for praying for members of the congregation, said they could see 'demons leaving' his body during the resultant exorcism. 'Something out of a horror movie' Mr Drapper told The Times: 'Looking back, it seems like something out of a horror movie – for someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying. 'But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.' Mr Drapper said that the experience left him feeling 'empty' and that he considered taking his own life. He left the church in 2016 and said he had 'lost my Christian faith because of this'. Mr Drapper made a formal complaint in 2019 but the church said there was 'no evidence to substantiate' his complaint. In 2021, the Diocese of Sheffield commissioned an investigation by Barnardo's, the children's charity. The review concluded last year that it was a 'supported fact' that Mr Drapper was subject to a prayer session, which was 'in our view a form of exorcism'. It found: 'From the evidence available to us it is our view that the session took place as described by [Mr Drapper] and prayers were administered with the intention of changing his sexual identity.' Mr Drapper then launched legal action against the church, resulting in a five-figure out-of-court settlement. The 37-year-old said: 'You imagine this kind of practice to be outdated but it has been revived in recent decades and is often referred to as 'power healing'. 'I know around 20 people who have been through it but I suspected there are many, many more.' 'Abhorrent homophobic practices' Richard Scorer, Mr Drapper's lawyer, told The Times: 'As far as I am aware this is the first ever payment of damages in respect of harm caused by conversion or exorcism practices. 'It demonstrates that churches which engage in these abhorrent homophobic practices may face legal claims and damages awards, and I hope it will encourage churches to ban such practices entirely.' Following the publication of the Barnardo's report, St Thomas Philadelphia said: 'We have accepted the outcomes of the first investigation and are saddened that one of our community was not cared for in the way we would have liked. We sincerely apologised to them for this.'
