noel is quite right (and I wish I could get reply with quote to work, but that is another issue). In the early church, marriage was regarded as a civil matter, and it was as late as the 12th century that the Catholic church declared it to be a sacrament ordained by God. At the reformation, Luther and Calvin rejected the idea of it being a sacrament and said the church should have no role in it. So the idea that marriage has in some sense always belonged to the church is completely untrue.
The Irish goverement could only go so far. The catholic church has retained the right to refuse Gay marriages. I am not sure what the situation will be with individual priests as some of them defied the bishops and supported it. If these priests agree to hold a cermony in their church will they get in trouble with their bishop?
So for the most part the law to be passed in ireland will alow for Civil Marriage in registery offices on top of the existing Civil Partnerships.
I'm not catholic and have no religious inclination. I'm not gay.Originally Posted by DrPatrickBarry
If I was gay, I couldn't be catholic.
If I drank in a pub and was made to feel unwelcome, I'd go find another pub. You might end up with Black Sheep instead of Timmy Taylors, but it's still a good pint if you like your bitter - most would ssay an improvement.
The Black Sheep pub would probably lose custom over time as word got around at how great the TT pub is and either have to close, or review its position.
If a law had been passed to force a warm welcome to all, it would just create a false position that would not really work for anyone.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
To take this to it's extreme (and only to make a point - I'm not saying you're drawing parallels here WP)... If you passed a law that made Nazis be nice to Jews it would just create a false position that would not really work for anyone.
For a different perspective on Catholicism and homosexuality, I remember reading an excellent piece by the Irish writer Colm Tóibín in the London Review of Books. It explains, among other things, why as a teenager "confused by his sexuality" he seriously considered joining the priesthood.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n16/colm-to...the-flutterers
When we got married, we had a Quaker wedding where you effectively marry each other without a minister. Priests etc are an unnecessary obstruction between a person and their idea of God. I'm an atheist but I still go to Quaker meetings occasionally because my idea of 'God' is living by a moral code, not an omnipotent being. British Quakers are also extremely tolerant of people's gender, sexuality, beliefs etc. I'm not religious but if I was, this would be the one for me
This has been legal a long time before registry or 'non-religious' ceremonies so maybe was the origin of non-religious weddings.
Last edited by TheHeathens; 28-05-2015 at 10:49 PM.
Reply With Quote
