Letters

Marriage

Arnold Jago

Contents - Dec 2010 - Buy a copy now Homily: Christmas - Pope Benedict XVI Euthanasia: Australia's Christian churches unite in opposition - MIchael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World Youth: Another successful Australian Catholic youth initiative - Br Barry Coldrey Call to Holiness: Facing life issues in love and truth - Babette Francis Congress for Life: Catholic orthodoxy: key to promoting the culture of life - Cardinal Raymond Burke Homily: Christus Rex Pilgrimage: Building God's Kingdom on earth - Bishop Peter J. Elliott Catholic origins: Psychology and Christianity: need they be at odds? - Wanda Skowronska Poetry: Euthanasia, the insidious escalator - Bruce Dawe Letters: Eucharistic faith - Anna M. Silvas Letters: Marriage - Arnold Jago Letters: Lay saint? - Eamonn Keane Letters: Euthanasia - Brian Coman Letters: Ecumenism - Kevin McManus Letters: Family breakdown - Peter Gilet Books: EDMUND CAMPION, by Richard Simpson, revised by Peter Joseph - Fr Anthony Robbie (reviewer) Books: THE LAST CRUSADER, by Louis de Wohl - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: FIVE SMOOTH STONES: A 40 Day WYD08 Journal, by Stephen Lawrence - Bishop Joseph Grech (reviewer) Fighting Fund: 2010 Fighting Fund progress Books: Order books from www.freedompublishing.com.au Reflection: Messiah: the one anointed by God to reconcile sinners - Fr Dennis W. Byrnes

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she is unwilling to consider changing Labor policy on "same-sex marriage".

The Greens Party has introduced a bill to change the Marriage Act to recognise same-sex couples, but Gillard won't be in it.

Homosexual activists call her attitude "appalling". Some disgruntled Labor MP's are demanding a "conscience vote".

To discuss this subject rationally, we must first ask ourselves the question: "What is marriage?"

The traditional definition has always been that marriage is "a covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life."

Really?

If so, then marriage doesn't exist in Australia ... not since the Family Law Act (no-fault divorce, etc) was proclaimed under the 1970s Whitlam Government.

Any Australian couple today wanting to enter a legally-binding covenant to remain partners until separated by death cannot do so.

No matter what they say or promise at the time of their marriage, the moment one partner changes her (or his) mind, the law considers the whole thing a throwaway item.

It is  not marriage that same-sex couples want - but Australia's current Mickey-Mouse fake-marriage which, legally-speaking, binds nobody to anything.

Before being too critical of our homosexual citizens, let's remember that this is exactly the arrangement that many Australians have got comfortable with.

Our children - raised in broken homes, molested by Mummy's boy-friends - pay the price.

If Australians wanted real honest-to-God marriage, they would have it.

For example, if the 30 percent of voters calling themselves Catholic threatened to vote against any party refusing to redefine marriage as something resembling Christian marriage, the Family Law Act would be repealed and rewritten within a fortnight.

On this subject, the voice of the Church should be loud, strident and continuous.

ARNOLD JAGO (DR)
Mildura, Vic

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 23 No 11 (December 2010 - January 2011), p. 13