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The union between a man and a woman and its definition predates the state and church but now the bond had been defined as “marriage” said the Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong.
He was speaking on the issue in the light of the United States Supreme Court decision upholding same gender marriage.
“Firstly, it’s for their own good, because of the complementary nature of the two sexes they bring wholesome to the other.”
“Secondly it’s open to procreation and because of that their love overflows into the wider society.”
“According to the church this is what we understand by marriage, any relationship that falls short of this cannot be called marriage,” Archbishop Chong explained.
The Ministry of the iTaukei Affairs will never at any time support same sex marriage according to Deputy Permanent Secretary Apakuki Kurusiga
When the Fiji Sun posed the question on same sex marriage to him he said – “No way; it is against our culture and tradition.”
He said marriage to the iTaukei people was a very sacred ceremony and there were traditional protocols to be followed leading to the wedding proper.
Most iTaukei people in villages are members of different religious groups and these groups, he said, firmly believed marriage was a union between a man and a woman.
Spokesmen for The Methodist Church in Fiji and Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji have also expressed the belief that marriage should be defined as a union between a woman and a man.
Same sex marriages are not a priority of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, says Sulique Waqa, the co-ordinator of the Haus of Khameleon which is a safe haven for LGBTQ members.
“Because we feel like before we start talking about same-sex marriage we need to equally look at the critical issues that we have been fighting for the past decade and the past years as LGBTQ activists in the Pacific,” she said.
According to data retrieved from the Council of Global Equality, a number of countries within the Pacific have criminalised homosexuality and only six countries within the Pacific region have decriminalised homosexuality.
Fiji is one of the six who have.
Ms Waqa added if a discussion were to be struck on same-sex marriages, homosexuality needs to first be decriminalised in the region.
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