Thursday, April 11, 2013
"Cardinal leads rethink on same-sex civil unions"
From The Tablet:
11 April 2013
A leading cardinal has said that same-sex relationships should be respected and recognised in law amid signs of a change in church thinking on the subject.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, made the remarks in a lecture at the National Gallery evening titled "Christianity: Alien Presence or Foundation of the West?" on Monday.
"There can be same-sex partnerships and they need respect, and even civil law protection. Yes, but please keep it away from the notion of marriage. Because the definition of marriage is the stable union between a man and a woman open to life," Cardinal Schönborn said.
"We should be clear about terms and respect the needs of people living in a partnership together. They deserve respect," he added.
Two other cardinals, Colombian Ruben Salazar and Theodore McCarrick have recently suggested the Church should not oppose same-sex civil unions.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2013/04/cardinal-leads-rethink-on-same-sex-civil-unions.html
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It’s always heartening to see that someone in the Church is open to changing the Church's increasingly anachronistic stance. (And I agree that being anachronistic is not a reason to change the stance, I use the word only to accurately describe the stance.)
I still don’t see how calling same-sex unions “marriage” is at all harmful or confusing. When our culture began to accept inter-racial marriages (or inter-faith marriages) no new term was needed. I don’t see a reason for one now. It serves only to denigrate their relationship.
But I applaud Cardinal Schönborn for is recognition of the need to respect the life-affirming relationships of same-sex couples.
sean s.