Irish bishops are warning Catholics in Ireland that presenting same sex-partnerships as equivalent to marriage would be akin to saying that the union of man and woman is no longer the foundation of society. In a pastoral statement aimed at presenting the Church’s teaching on marriage ahead of a vote on same-sex marriage due to Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Same-sex marriage’
Cardinal slams gay marriage as Trojan horse against family
Friday, November 14th, 2014
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
US prelate suggests priests don’t sign marriage certificates
Friday, October 24th, 2014
An American archbishop has suggested Catholic priests protest against same-sex marriage laws by refusing to sign any civil marriage certificates. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia urged the US bishops to consider this in response to what he called the “new marriage regime” of same-sex civil marriage. In a lecture in New York on October 20, Archbishop Read more
Mixed reaction to Synod document in New Zealand
Friday, October 17th, 2014
There has been a mixed reaction in New Zealand to the Family Synod document relatio post disceptationem – the half-way report drafted by a group of Synod fathers selected by Pope Francis. Wellington-based Catholic moral theologian John Kleinsman describes the statement as “momentous” and says it’s an exciting time to be Catholic. Peter Lineham, Massey University historian. says Read more
Wellington church defies same sex marriage decree
Friday, October 10th, 2014A Wellington Presbyterian church will defy the its Church’s decree and will continue to perform same sex marriages. On 7 October the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand decided to ban its ministers from conducting same sex-marriage ceremonies. “What matters in a marriage is the quality of the commitment and the Read more
Lobby group releases NZ MPs voting records on family issues
Tuesday, August 19th, 2014Family First has released a guide on how current MPs have voted on controversial family and conscience issues in the last 12 years. The resource, titled “Value Your Vote 2014”, was released in early August, about seven weeks before New Zealand’s general election. The issues covered include redefining marriage, the anti-smacking law, parental notification for teenage Read more
Catholic Church makes stand at Otago gay rights forum
Friday, August 15th, 2014
Mainline churches had divided opinions on the issue of same-sex marriage at a forum in Dunedin on August 11. It had been a year this month since marriage law was amended in New Zealand to allow same-sex marriage. Fr Mark Chamberlain told the forum that Roman Catholics remain opposed to same-sex marriage. “In the Catholic Read more
Practising Catholic to head Britain’s largest gay rights group
Friday, August 1st, 2014A practising Catholic has been appointed as the new chief executive of Stonewall, which is Britain’s largest gay rights organisation. Ruth Hunt has pledged to do more to win over “hearts and minds”. Announcing her priorities, Ms Hunt said she wanted to build on recent successes – including legal same-sex marriage – by helping change Read more
NZs first same sex marriage believed to have ended
Friday, July 18th, 2014Former Football Ferns player Melissa Ray and sales representative Natasha (Tash) Vitali won a ZM Radio competition to have an all-expenses-paid wedding in the Unitarian Church in Ponsonby at 8am on the day same sex marriage became legal last August. They went by horse-drawn carriage to a reception at the Cloud on the Auckland waterfront, Read more
Key addresses 500 Pasifika church leaders
Friday, July 11th, 2014
Prime Minister John Key spoke to more than 500 members of South Auckland’s Pasifika community on Tuesday. The meeting, with Pacific church leaders at the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church in Mangere, was also a platform to promote National’s candidate for Mangere, Misa Fia Turner. Key says there had been a shift in support Read more