Louisa Wall, the Labour member of parliament for Manurewa in New Zealand, says the Catholic Church should stay out of the current Australian discussion about same-gender marriage because it lacks moral authority.
She told the BuzzFeed political podcast Is It On? she is perplexed by the prominent role of the Catholic Church and its leaders in Australia’s same-gender marriage survey.
“I can’t understand why they haven’t been told not to lead the ‘no’ campaign,” Wall said.
“They don’t have any moral authority.”
“How can it, as an institution which has actively covered up the sexual abuse of children for over 70 years?”
Wall was surprised more Australians hadn’t told the Catholic Church to refrain from getting involved in the same-sex marriage debate.
“I wish you’d talk about it and say to them, ‘If you want to be a moral crusader, why don’t you eliminate child sexual abuse? And be a leader in that?'” she said.
“Not against human rights, and especially in a process where young Australians are being so adversely affected.”
“I find it absolutely appalling that they’ve come out and been so vigorous in their opposition.”
Three Catholic archdioceses — Sydney, Hobart, and Broken Bay — are listed as official partners with the Coalition for Marriage.
Last month, Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart wrote an open letter to Catholics urging a “no” vote and asking them to consider the consequences of legalising same-sex marriage. A similar directive was issued by the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe.
Wall authored the same-sex marriage bill that was passed into law by the New Zealand parliament in 2013.
Listen to a discussion on RNZ’s the Panel.
Source
- Buzzfeed
- RNZ
- Image: The Guardian
