ONE of Scotland’s top Catholics has launched a stinging attack on same-sex marriage, saying such relationships would be “meaningless”.
Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, believes allowing gay couples to marry in a traditional sense would be pointless as it would not result in the creation of a “natural family”.
His comments come in a letter to The Herald today following the Scottish Government’s decision to hold a 14-week consultation on the issue.
It will look at whether to change a law that allows gay and lesbian couples to formalise their relationship in a civil partnership ceremony but prevents them from marrying in a religious service.
Archbishop Conti said its supporters, who are said to number around 60% of the Scottish population according to a recent poll, were being “foolish”.
Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be opposed
He also criticised the Scottish Government for attempting to redefine the concept of marriage with their consultation, which he claims is akin to saying that “black is white”.
He writes: “In a proposed consultation regarding the redefinition of civil partnerships, we are talking not of human rights or of civil liberties, nor of legal or fiscal equalities, but of redefining a particular relationship to give it a meaning it doesn’t possess.
“We would use a word which carries huge significance, and render it meaningless in respect of one of its essential attributes, its capacity to create a natural family – I mean of course marriage.
“It hints also at a hubristic mentality on the part of those in power, who imagine that today they can call something what it was not yesterday, and tomorrow tell us that black is white.”
Archbishop Conti’s comments are part of a concerted effort by Catholic leaders to oppose any change to the status quo regarding marriage.
The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, which represents every diocese, responded to the consultation’s launch in a homily delivered by Cardinal Keith O’Brien at a Mass attended by MSPs on Wednesday.
He said: “The Catholic Church will study the consultation document in detail and respond to it. The view of the church is, however, clear – no government can rewrite human nature. The family and marriage existed before the state and are built on the union between a man and woman.
“Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed.”
The Scottish Government’s consultation will hear the views of all key groups and will report back before the end of the year.
Ministers have said that although they are in favour of making gay marriage legal, they would not force any religious group to carry out a ceremony if it did not want to.
A recent Scottish Attitudes survey found a majority of Scots were in favour of same-sex marriage, and that the number who backed the idea was growing.
Alan Wardle, director of the gay rights group Stonewall Scotland, said he hoped ministers would be swayed by those opinions rather than Archbishop Conti’s.
Mr Wardle said: “Along with a growing majority of Scots, we believe gay, lesbian and bisexual couples should have equal legal access to civil marriage, with no mandate on religious organisations to celebrate it. We lobbied strenuously for the Scottish Government to consult on equal marriage.
“We hope now that they listen to the majority of Scots and the various faiths and religious denominations who support same-sex marriage, as well as those lesbian, gay and bisexual people of devout faith in Scotland who wish to marry.”