The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is to call upon churchgoers to take a stand against the Government’s plans to legalise gay marriage. Archbishop Vincent Nichols has outlined his opposition in a pastoral letter to be read out during mass this Sunday. It warns that the proposal ‘threatens the true meaning of a sacred union’ and signals a ‘profoundly radical step’ that will strip marriage of its ‘distinctive nature’. The letter is co-signed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Rev Peter Smith. It argues that marriage as a union between a man and a woman should remain the ‘foundation of our society’. The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, was more scathing in his attack on the Government’s plans at the weekend. He said it was clear that the proposal was ‘not
about rights but rather is an attempt to redefine marriage at the behest of a small minority of activists’. See ‘Coalition for Marriage’ petition http://c4m.org.uk/ and last week’s Prayer Alert.
Pray: that this pastoral letter will challenge its church members to take a stand and pray that the wider church will also take up the challenge. (Heb.13:4)