Scottish Catholic Observer

Cardinal Keith O’Brien has denounced same-sex ‘marriage’ as a ‘grotesque subversion’ that, if legalised, would ‘shame Scotland in the eyes of the world.’

Speaking outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, ahead of the closure of the Scottish Government’s consultation into the issue next week, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland warned that if the Scottish Government legalised same-sex ‘marriage’ they would have ‘forfeited the trust’ of the nation.

Cardinal O’Brien’s warning to politicians was supported by Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow in his St Andrew’s Day homily.

Ecumenical opposition

The cardinal (above right), Britain’s most senior Catholic clergyman, was joined on Wednesday by other Christian leaders outside Holyrood at the launch of the Scotland for Marriage campaign, an umbrella group intended to bring together people who support the traditional definition of marriage.

Speaking alongside Gordon Wilson, a former national convener of the SNP, and Ann Allen, former chairwoman of the Church of Scotland’s board of responsibility, the cardinal said that he hoped and trusted that the Scottish Government would listen to ‘the voice of the people’ as tens of thousands of Scots had registered their opposition to this proposal ahead of the consultation period closing on December 9.

“As we near the end of the Scottish Government’s 14 week consultation on same-sex ‘marriage,’ there is no doubt whatsoever that when the responses are added up those who do not want marriage to be redefined will greatly outnumber those who do,” Cardinal O’Brien said.  He added that: “On the surface the proposal to redefine marriage may seem to some to be an innocuous proposition. But we must be clear that redefining marriage will have huge implications for what is taught in our schools and for wider society.”

Children

Cardinal O’Brien said that, in their rush to legalise same-sex ‘marriage,’ Scottish politicians had forgotten about the needs of children.

“At the heart of this debate however there is one perspective which seems to be completely lost or ignored, it is the point of view of the child,” he said. “All children deserve to begin life with a mother and father, the evidence in favour of the stability and well being which this provides is overwhelming and unequivocal.”

The cardinal said Scottish society had made a huge error in underestimating the importance of traditional marriage.

“There is no doubt that as a society we have become blasé about the importance of marriage as a stabilising influence and less inclined to prize it as a worthwhile institution,” he said. “It has certainly been damaged and undermined over the course of a generation, yet marriage has always existed in order to bring men and women together so that the children born of those unions will have a mother and a father. As an institution, marriage long predates the existence of any state or government. It was not created by government and should not be changed by them. Instead, recognising the innumerable benefits which marriage brings to society they should act to protect and uphold it not attack or dismantle it.”

Archbishop Conti

As Scotland for Marriage was being launched at the Scottish Parliament, Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow used his St Andrew’s feast day Mass homily to say the cardinal was right to remind politicians the Church could not compromise on this issue.

“Some issues are not negotiable; marriage being one of them,” Archbishop Conti said.  “Marriage, between one man and one woman is a fundamental building block of our culture and cannot be tampered with, without doing damage to the foundations and infrastructure of society. As the cardinal said: ‘As an institution, marriage long predates the existence of any state or government. It was not created by government and should not be changed by them. Instead, recognising the innumerable benefits which marriage brings to society they should act to protect and uphold it not attack or dismantle it.’”

Support for Church

The stance against redefining marriage of the archbishop and the cardinal was resolutely backed by Mrs Allen, from the Church of Scotland.

“As a teacher I am concerned that children are going to be taught that same sex partnerships and traditional marriage are the same, when clearly they are not,” she said. “These are different relationships with different outcomes. Are teachers going to have freedom of conscience in this area? Is it going to be possible to support and believe in traditional marriage without being labelled bigoted and narrow minded? Are parents going to be free to express their views on this issue? None of this is clear. If the redefinition of marriage goes ahead it will have far reaching consequences and as far as I can see none of them are positive.”

Mrs Allen also said she was puzzled as to why the Scottish Government had decided to press ahead with this issue.

“I’m confused as to why, with so many pressing issues confronting us today in Scotland, our government has chosen to prioritise time, effort, and money on this particular issue,” she said. “Only 10 countries out of 198 in the United Nations have addressed the issue of same-sex ‘marriage.’ Already they face problems. Canada legalised same-sex ‘marriage’ in 2005 and today faces challenges to have polygamy legalised. Mexico City legalised same-sex ‘marriage’ in 2009 and now temporary marriages, which will last only two years are on their agenda. Is this what we want for a modern Scotland?”

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