New Stats NZ data shows fewer people are getting married, celebrating civil unions and being granted divorces. In fact, the 2021 stats show New Zealand’s marriage and divorce numbers are the lowest since the 1970s. Marriages and Civil Unions Stats NZ says last year 15,657 marriages and civil unions were registered to New Zealand residents. Read more
The Vatican says comments by Pope Francis on civil union laws in a documentary last month were taken out of context and did not signal a change in Church doctrine on homosexuals nor support for same-sex marriage. It said Francis did not question the Catholic dogma of marriage being between a man and a woman. Read more
Catholics recently woke up to surprising—and for many of us, welcome—news: the pope had come out in favour of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family,” he’d been recorded saying on footage included in the feature-length documentary, Francesco, which had just premiered. “Nobody should Read more
Pope Francis has again indicated support for same-sex civil unions. His most recent comments were made in “Francesco,” a new documentary on his life and ministry. The film premiered Oct. 21 as part of the Rome Film Festival. In the film, Francis says that “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. Read more
Teenagers wanting to have a civil union or de facto relationship will soon require approval from a judge. Parliament is considering a bill in the name of National MP Joanne Hayes which is designed to protect 16 and 17 year-olds from forced marriage in New Zealand. Continue reading
‘How’s married life?” People ask it in a slightly mocking tone, as if it’s rather quaint to think that married life should be any different from unmarried life. One year in, however, I’ve been surprised to find that it is different – in a good way. This idea is increasingly out of fashion. Nearly half Read more
Gay civil unions and same-sex marriages are a “Trojan horse” that fundamentally weakens the institution of the family, a senior cardinal has warned. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, said that civil unions between gay men and women only serve to “confuse people” and undermine traditional family life. This is especially Read more
The synod on the family’s special secretary has given a qualified support to legal recognition of the rights of people in same-sex unions. At a press conference after the release of the synod’s half way report (relatio), Archbishop Bruno Forte said “it seems obvious to me that humans have different experiences [and] have rights that Read more
New Zealanders are marrying later than in the past. Statistics from the 2013 census released on 5 May show that in 2013, the median age at first marriage was 30.1 years for men and 28.6 years for women – up from 27.3 and 25.2 years in 1993. Although the median age at first marriage has Read more
In an interview, Pope Francis has discussed artificial contraception, non-marital civil unions, clergy sex abuse and the role of women in the Church. The wide-ranging interview, marking the first anniversary of Francis’s pontificate, was published in Italy and Argentina. Pope Francis praised Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical “Humanae Vitae”, which prohibited the use of contraception. Read more