Archbishop brands calls for gay marriage as ‘kind of tyranny’

THE Archbishop of Glasgow has said politicians will redefine “natural law” if they legalise gay marriage.

Mario Conti delivered the strongly worded sermon today at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh.

He said changes in the law were designed to “recreate society” and that any legislation to allow same-sex marriage will have negative consequences.

• Read the full text of Conti’s sermon

Archbishop Conti said: “Those voices are growing ever louder in our country, that attempted marginalisation is becoming ever more acute and we are witnessing the transformation of tolerance into a kind of tyranny in which religious views are the only ones which seem unworthy of respect and acceptance.

“Governments which fail to take into account the wisdom that is handed down generation to generation in communities of faith or fail to underscore the right and duty of following informed conscience on the part of citizens will, it seems, inevitably find themselves attempting to be wise by creating ever more legislation and requiring judges to interpret it according to the mores of the day.”

The mass was marking the seventh anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and was celebrated in front of representatives of Scottish civil and political life and the Papal Ambassador to Britain.

The Archbishop added that politicians “seem ready to redefine marriage without any reference to children, or to the natural law written on the heart of mankind, putting the claim of ‘equality and diversity’ on a higher level than faith and reason, and ultimately asserting the moral equivalence between marriage and same-sex unions”.

He said: “Our society will descend further into ethical confusion and moral disintegration the more that those in Government and the judiciary slip society’s moorings from the capstans of virtue.”

The Scottish Government has staged a consultation on whether the law should be changed and has previously said it “tends towards the view” that same-sex marriage should be introduced, but faith groups and their celebrants should not be obliged to solemnise the ceremonies.

The consultation closed in December and is due to be published in the spring.

More than 1,000 campaigners for same-sex marriage marched to Holyrood last month to urge a change in the law.

The demonstration, which began on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, featured a giant Valentine’s Day card to First Minister Alex Salmond.

It contained the message: “Roses are white, thistles are blue, we believe in equal marriage and we hope the Scottish Government will too!”

The event saw supporters from across Scotland, including the Equality Network, NUS Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland, join Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) as part of its Love Equally Campaign.

At the moment, same-sex couples can enter into a civil partnership but cannot get married.

• Read the full text of Conti’s sermon