UK Catholic Church slams gay marriage

As the British government is to launch a formal consultation on gay marriage later on this month, Britain’s Catholic Church has stepped up its criticism on the government’s proposal.

Archbishop Vincent Nicholas, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and Archbishop Peter Smith, the Archbishop of Southwark, wrote a scathing letter to be read out at services in 2500 churches.

“Changing the legal definition of marriage would be a profoundly radical step. Its consequences should be taken seriously now,” they said in the letter.

“We have a duty to married people today, and to those who come after us, to do all we can to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations,” they added.

The letter comes about a week after the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, called the proposals “a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right.”

O’Brien also described the British government’s support for same sex marriage as “madness.”

Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair openly backed Prime Minister David Cameron’s plans for gay marriage saying he “strongly supports the Prime Minister’s proposal,” reported The Independent on Sunday.

Furthermore, Britain’s equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, who is responsible for the government’s consultation on gay marriage, said the church does not own marriage.