The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he would attend the gay wedding of one of his own children, despite his church opposing same-sex marriage. Archbishop Justin Welby said in an interview that if one of his five children asked for his blessing for a gay marriage, he would pray with them and attend the ceremony. Read more
A controversial sign that appeared outside a US Catholic church has been removed following complaints that it promoted same-sex marriage. St Columbia-Brigid Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York, put up the sign earlier this month with the message, “Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out just fine”. Fr Roy Herberger, pastor of the Read more
Same-sex marriage is often touted as a harmless expansion of individual liberty. Yet the legal redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples has far from innocuous consequences, particularly with regard to children’s well-being and religious liberty. Redefining marriage also strikes at our fundamental liberties in deeper though less obvious ways. A crucial aspect of liberty is Read more
A Green politician has laid a complaint with Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner over a marriage booklet produced by Australia’s Catholic bishops. Martine Delaney has asked the commissioner’s office to investigate Hobart Archbishop Julian Porteous and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. At issue is the booklet “Don’t Mess with Marriage”, produced by the bishops earlier this year. Read more
Guam’s Catholic governor let a bill defining marriage as between two people, regardless of gender, lapse into law, rather than sign it himself. Governor Eddie Calvo’s religious beliefs prevented him signing Bill 119-33, also called the “Guam Marriage Equality Act”. The bill was introduced into the legislature in June, hours after the District Court of Read more
There has been a mixed online response to Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna’s remarks about the legalisation of same sex marriage in the Cook Islands. In a press conference last week he said that it was not currently an issue and there is no need to deal with it until it becomes one. His comments Read more
A US archbishop has softened his tone on Catholics who support same-sex marriage receiving Communion. In 2013, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron wrote that that Catholics who back same-sex marriage and receive Communion would “logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury”. But this month he told the Detroit Free Press: “Whenever it Read more
A Conservative UK MP has said anti-terror laws should be applied to those who teach that same-sex marriage is wrong. Mark Spencer has promoted the use of Extreme Disruption Orders (EDOs) to prevent teachers disseminating the idea that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. EDOs are a new anti-hate-speech measure introduced Read more
The campaign to redefine marriage has recently gained such momentum – with now three and soon four bills before the Commonwealth Parliament – that many think it is inevitable. This can leave those with misgivings feeling that they are already losers in a done deal. Some think it is the inexorable progress of liberty and Read more