THE Catholic Church is instructing
parishioners to lobby federal MPs against voting for gay marriage,
suggesting they base arguments on the natural order and the importance
of a biological relationship with children rather than on marriage being
a religious institution.
As pressure mounts inside the Labor Party for a change in the
party's policy officially banning such marriages, both the gay lobby and
now the Catholic Church are intensifying their efforts to win the
debate.
MPs are consulting their constituents after a Greens motion urging politicians to seek the views of their electorates on changing marriage laws was passed last month in the House of Representatives with Labor's support.
In an open letter, the church tells its members that as "the Greens continue their assault on the culture of life . . . every Catholic should let federal legislators know that marriage and family, the cornerstone of society, must be protected at all costs."
The "talking points" to be used by parishioners have been prepared
by the Sydney Archdiocese, the Catholic Women's League and the Knights
of the Southern Cross.
"Marriage between a man and a woman is not a religious construct but a natural institution found across all cultures and religions.
"Marriage is a unique kind of sexually complementary union with a natural orientation to life," reads the key argument.
To counter the argument used by the gay lobby that children are an optional extra for marriage and marriage is not connected to having children, the church suggests that heterosexual married couples that are infertile have a greater right to be married "because their lovemaking is designed to give life".
"Allowing two men or two women to marry would involve a fundamental change in our understanding of marriage, from a life-giving and sexually complementary union to a personal, romantic relationship with no true communion or connection to procreation," it says.
The church also said allowing gay marriage would trivialise the meaning and dignity of motherhood and fatherhood.
SIC: HS/AUS