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Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley explained in a pastoral letter that marriage is designed for the mutual good of the spouses and to provide both a father and a mother to children. But same-sex unions are “different in nature and purpose from marriage” and should not be called by the same name, he said.
He warned that recognizing same-sex unions as marriages will “change the nature of parenting” and replace the “normal mother and father model” with one that will deprive children of their right to have a mother and a father.
The redefinition of marriage will also bring “state-sponsored discrimination and penalties in the courts and in the workplace” against anyone who questions the rightness of same-sex “marriage.” The political situation will be “riding roughshod over freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience,” Bishop Tartaglia predicted.
The proposed redefinition will have detrimental effects on education and make new models of sex education, marriage and parenting mandatory in public schools.
The proposed recognition of “gay marriage” is not about equality or human rights, but rather “the nature and meaning of marriage in our society.”
He rejected the idea that opposition to these unions is “homophobic bigotry.” The nature of marriage has been “universally recognized” by all cultures and all great religions.
“It is therefore wrong and foolish to undermine this understanding of marriage,” the bishop said.
Recognizing “gay marriage” is unnecessary in light of Scotland’s present recognition of same-sex partnerships with all the rights and privileges of marriage, he added. The proposed change will also remove the government’s ability to give a principled refusal to requests for polygamous marriage.
Full Story: EWTN
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