Catholic and Anglican leaders speak out against David Cameron's same-sex marriage agenda

Bishop Philip Egan

In response to the Cameron government's announcement on Friday regarding its same-sex marriage plans, Catholic and Anglican leaders have spoken out.

Philip Egan (pictured), the new Catholic bishop of Portsmouth, has issued a statement saying (inter alia):

"[B]y attempting to change the natural meaning of marriage, he seems utterly determined to undermine one of the key foundations of our society ... If the prime minister proceeds with his intentions, he will pervert authentic family values, with catastrophic consequences for the well-being and behaviour of future generations ... The institution of marriage has its ups and downs, but will we ever forget that it was the leader of the Conservative Party who finally destroyed marriage as a lasting, loving and life-giving union between a man and a woman?"

Joseph Devine, the Catholic bishop of Motherwell, has written a two-page letter to David Cameron which says (inter alia):

“I suspect it is only a matter of time before you go one step further and outlaw the teaching of Christian doctrine on sexual morality on the grounds of discrimination.”

The Church of England has issued a statement, saying (inter alia)*:

"[T]he meaning of marriage will change for everyone, gay or straight, if the proposals are enacted ... [T]he uniqueness of marriage is that it embodies the underlying, objective, distinctiveness of men and women. This distinctiveness and complementarity are seen most explicitly in the biological union of man and woman which potentially brings to the relationship the fruitfulness of procreation.

To remove from the definition of marriage this essential complementarity is to lose any social institution in which sexual difference is explicitly acknowledged.

We believe that redefining marriage to include same-sex relationships will entail a dilution in the meaning of marriage for everyone by excluding the fundamental complementarity of men and women from the social and legal definition of marriage."

*Readers should note that the Church of England's statement contains a number of other comments which differ from Catholic teaching regarding the homosexual agenda.

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