#next The Catholic Union of Great Britain » Feed The Catholic Union of Great Britain » Comments Feed The Catholic Union of Great Britain » same sex marriage Tag Feed Catholic Union logo -- + Archive Tag Archives: same sex marriage Summary notes of the meeting of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee 13th May 2014 -- The Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s brief document “Sense and nonsense on assisted dying” (circulated) was a valuable contribution and would be distributed to the entire CU membership. Same sex marriage Northern Ireland This was defeated again 53 to 48. The subject of the consultation draft on “Applying Equality Law in practice for Catholics” was raised. Reactions and comments were to be submitted by the end of May. -- This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged abortion, Education, faith schools, religious education, same sex marriage, sex education, Westminster on May 30, 2014 by JohnTabor. Summary proceedings of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee 8th April 2014 -- Any Other Business Same Sex Marriage guidelines: the Equality and Human Rights web site stated that holding to the traditional view of marriage is not in itself an offence if expressed in moderation; teachers will be allowed to teach what they feel is right with regard to their faith. It was decided that in future selected items should be highlighted from each month’s minutes and sent to the appropriate member of the Bishops’ Conference, under the guidance of the Chairman. This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged abortion, Assisted Dying, Childhood Euthanasia, Ethics, Human Trafficking, Marriage, Mitochondrial Donation, Modern Slavery, same sex marriage on April 17, 2014 by JohnTabor. BIshop Egan on Secularism -- This entry was posted in News and tagged abortion, Catholic Church, Education, Ethics, Pope Benedict XVI, same sex marriage, Secularism, Westminster on March 11, 2014 by JohnTabor. Summary of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee Meeting – 11th February 2014 -- MSP Vote on SSM 4^th February 2014 This vote in the Scottish parliament to redefine marriage was carried by 105 votes to 18 with supporters of traditional marriage subject to verbal abuse. Amendments to protect teachers, adopters, fosterers etc. were all defeated. Scotland is becoming very nearly a totalitarian society. Anyone who disagrees with same sex marriage will be called intolerant, discriminatory and hateful and may lose their position in public bodies. Further, the Children and Young Person’s bill introduces a “Named Person” imposed by the state on every child without consent and without opt-out whose function, according to the Bill “cannot be carried out by a parent of the child or young person”. People are regarding developments in Scotland as a social revolution. People now live in fear of being overheard in a public place, being reported to the police and arrested, in some cases held overnight. It was agreed the CU should revive an active committee to support John Deighan in presenting parliamentary developments to the Catholic public. The guidelines for sex education were being revised; this should be resisted because current guidelines give parents a very strong position to demand to know what was being taught. The Labour party had tried to introduce sex education into the primary curriculum but had been defeated. The Lunacek road map for LBGT rights has been overwhelmnigly accepted by the European Parliament. It calls for the criminalisation of homophobia throughout Europe, for same sex marriage in every country, for teaching of homosexual practice to all children from which parents may not dissent and people who speak out against are to be silenced. -- A UN committee on the Rights of the Child severely criticised the Holy See for concealing child abuse by priests. In fact responsibility here lies with diocesan bishops, not the Holy See, who must act in accordance with the civil law of the local jurisdiction which subsists to Canon Law. This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged abortion, Assisted Dying, civil partnerships, euthanasia, family life, same sex marriage, Scotland, sex education, Syria on February 24, 2014 by JohnTabor. Summary of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee 17th December 2013 -- A letter had been written to the Prime Minister and the Dept. of Health regarding the proposal to allow the production of embryos with two mothers and one father (hoping to prevent mitochondrial disease in the child). Two near identical replies had been received, referring to an imminent consultation and to a commission of “international experts” who said there was no concern for safety. However, IVF is known to increase the risk of birth defects, cancer and mental retardation. It is irresponsible to predict no risk with this even more radical procedure. The Chairman would write to Jeremy Hunt and to his own MP, questioning the safety of this procedure and seeking the identity of the “international experts”. Same sex marriage in Scotland and Northern Ireland The debate in the Scottish Parliament on this issue has been astonishingly abusive. It is expected that the SSM Bill will be approved by early March 2014. The Chairman is due to talk to the Political Officer of the Scottish Bishops conference. The Northern Ireland Assembly will not entertain SSM, but will accept as civil partners, those same sex couples married elsewhere in the UK. -- Protection of the Vulnerable – NHS England had set up the LACDP (Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People) to advise the Secretary of State for Health by 6^th January 2014, on what should replace the LCP. Dr Cole had met its chair, Dr Bee Wee, and had agreed that anyone entering hospital should have confidence that they would receive evidence-based treatment compassionately and ethically applied. “More Care Less Pathway” had been set up to counter it and seek a meeting with Norman Lamb MP, minister for health, to slow the process and give time for the counter views (now accepted by the BCEW) to be considered. This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged abortion, Assisted Dying, Catholic Church, civil partnerships, euthanasia, family life, gender-based abortion, Marriage, mental capacity, persecution of Christians, same sex marriage, Westminster on January 2, 2014 by JohnTabor. Marriage Statistics in the United Kingdom -- ONS would like to thank all users who have contributed so far to the consultation‘User requirements for marriage, divorce and civil partnership statistics given the introduction of marriage of same sex couples‘. ONS would like to clarify that it is not proposing to produce only total figures for marriages where the distinction between same sex and opposite sex couples is not available. ONS do intend to publish marriage and divorce statistics in the future where figures for opposite sex and same sex couples are shown separately. ONS are consulting on the characteristics of these marriages/divorces which are of particular interest so that published statistics meet user requirements. This entry was posted in News and tagged civil partnerships, Marriage, same sex marriage on December 10, 2013 by JohnTabor. Summary of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee 22nd October 2013 -- Lord Falconer is now in the Shadow Cabinet so will not be advancing an assisted dying bill for now, although something akin to it might be put forward in Scotland. Same Sex Marriage C4M intend to keep the fight alive on this issue and not let politicians off the hook. The Committee’s view was that this issue is now behind us. -- This campaign aims to acquire a million signatures with a view to opening a debate in the European Parliament on ending funding from research using embryonic stem cells (we can’t destroy embryos because they are “one of us”). This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged abortion, Assisted Dying, care pathway, freedom of religion, gender-based abortion, persecution of Christians, same sex marriage, Scotland on November 7, 2013 by JohnTabor. “The Narrow Gate” – A Reflection by the Archbishop of Westminster Following the passing of legislation regarding same sex marriage, the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev’d Vincent Nichols, has published a reflection on marriage and its true meaning, as well as the Church’s view on civil partnerships and the consequences of same sex marriage. The full text is available here This entry was posted in News and tagged Catholic Church, freedom of religion, religious education, same sex marriage on August 7, 2013 by JohnTabor. Summary of the Parliamentary & Public Affairs Committee Meeting 16th July 2013 -- The Married Couples’ Tax Allowance has been accepted by the Government and will appear in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement Same Sex Marriage A letter had been received from Oliver Letwin MP regarding same sex marriage and safeguards for teachers who teach traditional marriage. The letter made clear that Mr Letwin regards same sex marriage as nothing more than a ceremony and so has no idea of the wider ramifications and time-honoured role of true marriage in society. The Prime Minister is understood to regard same sex marriage as merely a “relabeling” of the wedding ceremony. With regard to the safeguards for teachers, this appeared to be seen as straightforward and of little issue. The House Lords did not feel that they should frustrate the will of the elected chamber (from where many of their number have come). 10 Amendments were moved – these were moderate and well-phrased – all were defeated. The legislation has been rushed through and is badly drafted. The law will be tested in the Courts. There were a total of 55 Lords Amendments. The campaign against same sex marriage will have to be carried on from a Catholic perspective. The position for teachers and others will be extremely difficult, since they will be tied by both SSM legislation and the Equality Act. It was pointed out that although the Bill has been passed, pressure against the law should be maintained by members of the Union and by the public, so that David Cameron is not allowed to forget the opposition this measure has generated. This pressure should be maintained until the 2015 General Election at least. Neuberger Review – The Liverpool Care Pathway -- The general feeling is that this is a very low priority for the FCO. President Assad protects the Christians as part of the pluralist society in Syria. Arming the rebels would be unhelpful in this regard. The exemplary work of Baroness Cox in working against Christian persecution globally was cited. This entry was posted in News, Parliamentary Affairs and tagged care pathway, Catholic Church, faith schools, Local Councillors, persecution of Christians, religious education, same sex marriage, School Governors on August 2, 2013 by JohnTabor. Summer Briefing 2013 -- Chairman This entry was posted in Membership & Communication, News and tagged Catholic Church, same sex marriage, The Common Good on July 26, 2013 by JohnTabor. 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