NEWS TV pastor attacks US Supreme Court over Texas sodomy law July 16, 2003 NEW YORK - Prominent US televangelist Pat Robertson launched a "prayer offensive" against the Supreme Court on Tuesday, urging his supporters to pray for the removal of three sitting justices. "Would you join with me and many others in crying out to our Lord to change the Court?" Robertson asked viewers of his Christian Broadcasting Network. Robertson and other prominent members of the religious right have condemned the recent Supreme Court ruling, decriminalising gay sex between consenting adults. They argue that the decision opens the door to bigamy, legalized prostitution, and even incest. "No culture has ever endured which has turned openly to homosexuality," said Robertson, who described the nine-member Supreme Court as a "non-elected oligarchy" capable of changing the moral fabric of the nation. But rather than calling for the abolition of the court, Robertson urged his viewers to pray for the retirement of three judges and their replacement by three conservative justices. Robertson, a one-time presidential candidate, stopped short of naming the three judges, although he said one was 83 years old, another has had cancer, and another has a heart condition. "Would it not be possible for God to put it in the minds of these three judges that the time has come to retire? With their retirement and the appointment of conservative judges, a massive change in federal jurisprudence can take place," he said. Supreme court judges are appointed for life by the president but require confirmation by the Senate. The gay rights ruling was supported by six of the courts nine judges and replacing three would shift the balance on the court. - Sapa-AFP Related stories Croatia gay couples get equal rights as unmarried heterosexuals