In Scotland, all the Catholic bishops are standing up against the government's determination to legitimize same-sex marriage, and the Church's latest move to assert its opposition is drawing fire...
Atheists, gay activists urge
Scottish government to resist
Catholic Church 'campaign'
against same-sex marriage
by Lizzie Davis
August 26, 2012
The Scottish government has been urged to stand firm over its plans to legalise same-sex marriage and not be derailed by an "anti-gay agenda", as the Catholic Church in Scotland launched a campaign to maintain "the universally accepted definition of marriage" as a union between a man and a woman.
In a letter read out in all 500 of the church's parishes on Sunday, Scotland's Catholic bishops expressed their "deep disappointment" that Alex Salmond's administration has vowed to pass legislation that could see the first gay marriage ceremonies by 2015.
The letter called on worshippers to pray for their political leaders so that they may preserve the traditional nature of marriage "for the good of Scotland and of our society".
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the country's Catholic church, who last weekend broke off direct talks with the Scottish government on gay marriage, said: "The church's teaching on marriage is unequivocal, it is uniquely the union of a man and a woman and it is wrong that governments, politicians or parliaments should seek to alter or destroy that reality."
He added: "While we pray that our elected leaders will sustain rather than subvert marriage, we promise to continue to do everything we can to convince them that redefining marriage would be wrong for society."
Gay rights activists condemned the move. "
It is increasingly clear that the church has an anti-gay agenda that it wants to impose on the rest of society," said Tom French, policy co-ordinator of the Equality Network. "We urge the Scottish government to stand firm on plans to introduce equal marriage and not give in to demands that would discriminate against LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people."
Particularly worrying, said French, was any suggestion that the Catholic Church would take the fight into schools. According to the bishops' letter, a National Commission for Marriage and the Family will be launched, which would be especially important for young people and children. O'Brien said the body would "develop an online presence and produce materials and organise events" to promote the cause.
French said the Equality Network would be "deeply concerned" by any attempt to take these activities into schools. "School should be a welcoming environment for all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation or their family situation," he said.
In the face of intense pressure from not only the Catholic church but also Muslim organisations and evangelical and presbyterian churches, the Scottish government has continued with its plan to legalise gay marriage. A draft bill is to be published later this year.
Opinion polls have shown that about two-thirds of Scots are in favour of the changes.
The government has insisted that no clergy would be forced to carry out same-sex weddings and has included new protections and "conscience clauses" for churches and individual clergy in the legislation.
This has not, however, succeeded in placating opponents, foremost among them O'Brien, who in March drew criticism when describing gay marriage as a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right".
Here is the text of the pastoral letter read on Sunday in all the Catholic churches throughout Scotland:
In all things, we as Catholics look to Jesus Christ as our model and teacher. When asked about marriage He gave a profound and rich reply: “Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, ‘made them male and female’, and said: ‘This is why a man must leave father and mother and cling to his wife and the two become one body’.” (Mt 19,4-5)
In the Year of Faith, which begins this October, we wish to place a special emphasis on the role of the family founded on marriage. The family is the domestic Church, and the first place in which the faith is transmitted. For that reason it must have a primary focus in our prayerful considerations during this period of grace.
We write to you having already expressed our deep disappointment that the Scottish Government has decided to redefine marriage and legislate for same-sex marriage.
We take this opportunity to thank you for your past support in defense of marriage and hope you will continue to act against efforts to redefine it.
We reaffirm before you all the common wisdom of humanity and the revealed faith of the Church that marriage is a unique life-long union of a man and a woman.
In circumstances when the true nature of marriage is being obscured, we wish
- To affirm and celebrate the truth and beauty of the Sacrament of Matrimony and family life as Jesus revealed it;
- To do something new to support marriage and family life in the Catholic community and in the country; and
- To reinforce the vocation of marriage and the pastoral care of families which takes in the everyday life of the Church in dioceses and parishes across the country.
For that reason, in the forthcoming Year of Faith we have decided to establish a new Commission for Marriage and the Family. This Commission will be led by a bishop and will be composed mostly of lay men and women.
The Commission will be charged with engaging with those young men and women who will be future husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and with those who already live out their vocation to marriage and parenthood in surroundings which often make it hard to sustain and develop the full Catholic family life we cherish.
We wish to support too, those who are widowed, separated and divorced and all who need to feel the Church’s maternal care in the circumstances in which they find themselves.
The new Commission will promote the true nature of marriage as both a human institution and a union blessed by Jesus.
The Commission will be asked to develop an online presence so that prayer, reflection, formation and practical information on matters to do with marriage and family life can be quickly accessible to all. It will also work to produce materials and organise events which will support ordinary Catholic families in their daily lives. During the course of the coming year we will ask for your support for these initiatives.
Our faith teaches us that marriage is a great and holy mystery. The Bishops of Scotland will continue to promote and uphold the universally accepted definition of marriage as the union solely of a man and a woman. At the same time, we wish to work positively for the strengthening of marriage within the Church and within our society.
This is an important initiative for all our people, but especially our young people and children. We urge you to join us in this endeavour. Pray for your own family every day, and pray for those families whose lives are made difficult by the problems and cares which they encounter.
Finally, we invite you to pray for our elected leaders, invoking the Holy Spirit on them, that they may be moved to safeguard marriage as it has always been understood, for the good of Scotland and of our society.
Perhaps it would not have been amiss if the Scottish bishops also announced a pastoral initiative to help Catholic homosexuals deal with their dilemma and reconcile themselves with Catholic teaching. Yes, it may be calling on them to be 'superhuman', but renunciation of unnatural sex is possible and has been done by not a few Catholics who have come out to share their experience. God bless all those who think they cannot do anything but indulge the 'nature' they believe they have and enlighten them about what is right.