Scottish Government Determined About Gay Marriage

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has called gay marriage a
'grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right'. 

So the government of Scotland has announced its intention “to proceed with plans to allow same-sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships.”[1]  The Scottish government apparently said that it hopes that the first of the gay marriage ceremonies will be celebrated by the year 2015.  Whoopee!!  Not!!

In attempting to explain this rush to finalise the bill, Scotland's deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, gave the usual nonsense response that always accompanies attempts to justify gay marriage.  She said: “We are committed to a Scotland that is fair and equal”.  Sigh, how tiresome!

The Scottish government was of course quick to offer up these words of comfort to those with religious objections to gay marriage by saying that: “The Scottish government has already made clear that no religious body will be compelled to conduct same-sex marriages and we reiterate that today.”  How rather sweet and fair of them? 

Maybe someone should point out to them that they shouldn’t waste time drafting these laws of protection.  The reality is that, with or without laws to protect those with religious objections, gay marriage isn’t going to happen in the Catholic Church, not today or ever!

What the Scottish government, and other governments like them, need to realise, is that the Church is more concerned about what the long-term consequences of trying to make natural what is not natural, is doing, and will do, to society. 

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland had this to say in response to the Scottish governments announcement: “The Scottish government is embarking on a dangerous social experiment on a massive scale.  We strongly suspect that time will show the Church to have been completely correct in explaining that same-sex sexual relationships are detrimental to any love expressed within profound friendships.”  Hear; hear!!

Of course I have no doubt that accusations of homophobia and bigotry will ring out in response to this post.  These accusations have become a standard and rather tiresome response to anyone who voices opposition to gay marriage.  It is intended to intimidate!  (So much for fairness and equality.)  Just so that we are clear about the Church’s teaching on the subject of homosexuality, I include this, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to end off this post:

“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex.  It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures.  Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained.  Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."  They are contrary to the natural law.  They close the sexual act to the gift of life.  They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.  Under no circumstances can they be approved.  The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible.  This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.  They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.  Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.  These persons are called to fulfil God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.  Homosexual persons are called to chastity.  By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”[2]

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[1] BBC News, Gay Marriage To Be Introduced In Scotland, July 25, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-18981287

[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 2357 - 2359