Our Catenian motto declares our determination as an organisation to "strengthen family life". Well, family life is now under threat in a way it has never been before. I am talking about the Government's proposed legislation to legalise same-sex marriage. A draft bill could be published imminently so the necessity for us all to take action is urgent.
Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend, along with another member of St John's Pro Life Group, an Information Day for clergy and laity organised by
SPUC. These Days are being held around the country with the aim of informing us about the issues involved and suggesting concrete ways in which we can help the campaign against this bill. Please do visit our Pro Life website
here for more details of what we learned, but in brief some of the main points raised were:
- Gay marriage does not just affect those involved. No man is an island. There can be no concept of some sort of "justice"
for individuals without taking into account the wider rights of all
members of the community. Gay marriage, which has no procreative
potential, breaks down the many familial bonds and responsibilities which
result from natural marriage, to the detriment of our social structures and of our self-identity and security as individuals;
- Marriage is not just a religious or social concept. It is a natural reality which precedes both religion and society and upon which both (throughout the ages) have been structured. No government has the right to arbitrarily redefine it;
- Far more abortions occur outside of marriage than within it. Therefore marriage has a foundational role in protecting the unborn child (one reason why SPUC has got so involved in this campaign);
- Despite the Government's protestations about freedom of conscience, it cannot be guaranteed under Human Rights legislation that once the equality of all sexual relationships is enshrined in law, professionals such as teachers or pastors who refuse to positively promote same sex marriage will escape monitoring, legal penalties or even the loss of their jobs, as indeed we are beginning to see already;
- What do we want our children taught in schools? "Gay sex ed" is already creeping insidiously into curricula via an image here, a phrase there, all of which begin to create a certain mindset amongst young people. Once same sex marriage is legalised this process will escalate;
- Civil unions already provide gay couples with the same legal protections vis-a-vis inheritance and property rights that married couples enjoy.
There are several positive actions we can take and I would suggest that, as Catenians faithful to our motto, we should seriously consider doing so. First and foremost, lobby and/or write to your MP. If you haven't yet signed the
Coalition for Marriage petition, please do - they are aiming for a million signatures. Consider leafleting local houses (leaflets available from SPUC
here together with useful briefing notes to use when contacting MPs). We should soon be receiving, in our parishes, postcards issued by the Bishops for parishioners to send to their MPs; could you organise a table at the back of your church where people could sign these and which could then be sent off or hand delivered
en masse (to save people putting them down at home and losing them, or being unwilling/unable to pay the postage)? Parents and grandparents might want to contact their schools.
And of course, above all, pray, pray, pray!
Thank you so very much, from myself and also
per pro Bro President Edek.
