A leading Australian Jesuit, human rights advocate and lawyer, Fr
Frank Brennan, says it is time for the Church to draw a distinction
between a marriage recognised by civil law and a sacramental marriage.Fr Brennan, Professor of Law at Australian Catholic University, said last week that change was coming, as shown by two US Supreme Court rulings last month clearing the way for same-sex marriage in California and striking down Congress' attempt to limit marriage to the exclusive union of a man and a woman.
Writing on the Jesuit-operated Eureka Street website Fr Brennan said that in deciding whether to expand civil marriage to the union of two persons of the same gender, legislators should have regard for the good of the whole of society.