On Wednesday evening New Zealand became the thirteenth country in the world, and the first in the Asia/Pacific region, to support same gender marriage. Labour MP Louisa Wall’s Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, allowing same-sex couples to marry, has passed its third reading and final vote in Parliament. In front of a packed public Read more
Numerous assurances have been given that marriage celebrants who object, on the ground of religious belief or conscience, to conducting same gender marriage ceremonies will be protected in law. But Professor Rex Ahdar, from the Law Faculty of Otago University, says a flaw still remains in the most recent version of the Bill, despite the Select Committee’s hope that the Read more
A Parliamentary Select Committee has recommended that a bill to legalise same gender marriage be passed into law. The Government Administration Committee said the private member’s bill should progress, but with an amendment to make it clear that no minister was obliged to marry someone against their own beliefs. New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops say they Read more
New Zealand Catholic Bishops appeared before the New Zealand Government Administration Select Committee considering the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill on Wednesday to share their concerns over the future implications should it become law. Archbishop John Dew, Bishop Colin Campbell and Mrs Sue Devereux, representing the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, made a verbal submission Read more
A Presbyterian church in Wellington, New Zealand, has restated its decision to support same gender marriage. Senior minister at St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Margaret Mayman, said it would be part of a small minority of churches doing so. The Presbyterian General Assembly in New Zealand opposes a bill before Parliament which seeks to legalise Read more
In Whangarei, New Zealand, a teacher at Pompallier College, Nigel Studdart, has been dismissed. He had been suspended on full pay in August after he had supported a protest by students against the principal, Richard Stanton, who had expressed opposition to gay marriage and expressed concerns about gay parenting in the school newsletter. The Board of Trustees issued Read more
A number of ministry and church leaders believe a cautious approach to same-sex marriage is needed so as not to alienate those outside the church. Father Neil Vaney, an Auckland Roman Catholic moral theologian, said the secular media and various people were “pushing” the same sex issue. He said the Church should “show great compassion” Read more
An overwhelming majority of churches would not host same-sex weddings even if the law is changed to allow it. Almost all the major Christian denominations have vowed not to officiate for gay marriage, as have most other religious groups. The same-sex marriage bill passed its first reading in Parliament this week and must now pass two Read more
Some MPs who voted in favour of passing the same gender marriage Bill through its first reading last week are warning their support may end there. Gerry Brownlee is among the MPs ONE News spoke to who are not guaranteeing their support for the controversial Bill, despite helping it pass its first hurdle in Parliament. Read more
A teacher at a Catholic college in Whangarei has been suspended and students allegedly threatened in a dispute with the principal over same gender marriage. The bitter stand-off was prompted by comments from Pompellier College principal Richard Stanton in the school newsletter in which he lays out his objections to gay marriage under the heading Read more