Anyone interested in discussing the topic of Legalising Same Sex marriages ? How about some pertinent arguments from a top Catholic theologian ?
Legalise same-sex marriage for the 'common good', says Catholic priest Frank Brennan
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1) Same-sex marriage should be legalised for the "common good", one of Australia's leading Catholic thinkers has urged, arguing civil marriage cannot be seen as an instrument of the church.
2) In a marked departure from other Catholic leaders and many Coalition conservatives, Jesuit priest Frank Brennan said any concerns about religious freedom should be set aside until after a successful "yes" vote in the postal survey.
3) And he turned opponents' fears on their head, saying the increasing prevalence of same-sex couples with children was an argument in favour of marriage equality, not an argument against.
"We've got to factor that in to the common good argument about what's necessary," Father Brennan told Sky News on Friday, following his
delivery of the Lionel Bowen Lecture this week in which he declared he would vote "yes".
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"We are now in a society very different from what it was a decade ago": Father Frank Brennan. Photo: Lee Besford
4)
The legalisation of same-sex marriage in like-minded countries such as Britain and New Zealand was also a reason to support change, he said, to provide consistency for couples who moved around the world.
He imagined the example of a married Canadian same-sex couple, where same-sex marriage is legal, who are in Australia. If one person were dying in hospital, their partner's spousal rights may not be recognised.
"That's a common good argument you've got to look at," said Father Brennan, who runs Catholic Social Services Australia and is a professor of law at the Australian Catholic University.
5) "They're the sort of arguments which have me saying 'yes'. We are now in a society very different from what it was a decade ago."
6)
Father Brennan said he continued to espouse the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage - that it is between a man and a woman - but this had to be separated from civil marriage, which was the question before the Australian people.
"
It's a very different institution from what is marriage in the Catholic Church," he told Sky News. He said concerns about religious freedom were valid, but should be dealt with by Parliament in the advent of a "yes" vote, and not "during the hubbub of a publicity campaign".
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/fed...lic-priest-frank-brennan-20170901-gy8njv.html
And perhaps some comments from readers of the paper.
- Thank you Father Brennan at least there is some compassion and sense within the catholic church over this divisive debate. I am very concerned about the hateful debate and hope that people can be respectful. Father Brennan rightly has argued this is about human rights, not religious at all.
- It's fascinating that the church is now differentiating between the legal concept of civil marriage and the Catholic concept of marriage as an institution.
Perhaps this is the middle ground where all parties can manage to reconcile and justify their various desires and beliefs.
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-Governing is about 'the common good', and it strikes me as strange that we need to have a Catholic Priest telling our society what the 'common good' is - rather than our government....
For example:
"He used the example of a Canadian same-sex couple in Australia while one is dying in hospital, arguing their partner should be granted spousal rights.
"They're the sort of arguments which have me saying 'yes'. We are now in a society very different from what it was a decade ago."