The most influential Catholic in England and Wales has warned that same-sex marriages would be a "profoundly radical step" that would threaten the true meaning of matrimony, it has been reported.
Plans to extend marriage to same-sex couples would strip the union of its "distinctive nature" and reduce it to just the commitment of the two people involved, without recognising the intention of procreation and the education of children, the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will say.
The warning is part of a letter seen by the Daily Telegraph which is due to be read from the pulpit in 2, churches during Mass this Sunday.
The letter is co-signed by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend Peter Smith, and comes as ministers prepare to launch a consultation on the introduction of same-sex marriages. The archbishops argue that marriage is a "natural institution" with a meaning understood by wider society outside the Church. The say that extending it to same-sex couples would reduce its significance. In the letter, the archbishops say: "Changing the legal definition of marriage would be a profoundly radical step.
Its consequences should be taken seriously now. The law helps to shape and form social and cultural values. It would reduce it just to the commitment of the two people involved. There would be no recognition of the complementarity of male and female or that marriage is intended for the procreation and education of children. The letter says the roots of marriage lie in human nature and the pattern of complementarity and fertility in the union are affirmed by many other religious traditions.
