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.