Following the government announcement that civil partnership
ceremonies could be held in religious premises, Archbishop Peter Smith
has issued the following statement:
The Government statement on 17 February makes it clear that they are now considering a fundamental change to the status of marriage.
The Government statement on 17 February makes it clear that they are now considering a fundamental change to the status of marriage.
That is something which
was never envisaged by the Equality Act or any other legislation passed
by Parliament.
Marriage does not belong to the State any more than it
belongs to the Church. It is a fundamental human institution rooted in
human nature itself.
It is a lifelong commitment of a man and a woman to
each other, publicly entered into, for their mutual well-being and for
the procreation and upbringing of children.
No authority - civil or
religious - has the power to modify the fundamental nature of marriage.
We will be opposing such a change in the strongest terms.
The Equality Act was amended to permit Civil Partnerships on religious premises, which unhelpfully blurs the distinction previously upheld by Parliament and the Courts between marriage and civil partnerships.
The Equality Act was amended to permit Civil Partnerships on religious premises, which unhelpfully blurs the distinction previously upheld by Parliament and the Courts between marriage and civil partnerships.
A
consenting Minister is perfectly free to hold a religious ceremony
either before or after a Civil Partnership.
That is a matter of
religious freedom, but it requires no legislation by the State.
We do
not believe it is either necessary or desirable to allow the
registration of civil partnerships on religious premises.
These will
not take place in Catholic churches.