Canberra, Australia, Nov 18, 2009 / 04:15 am
Calling on Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd to overturn the Australian Capital Territory Government’s new laws recognizing same-sex civil unions, Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Mark Coleridge has charged that the unions “mimic” marriage and will undermine its importance.
The ACT’s Legislative Assembly has passed laws for legally binding civil union ceremonies between same-sex couples. It is the third attempt to recognize the ceremonies, with the assembly’s previous legislation having been rejected by both the Rudd government and the Howard government, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Responding to the legislation, Archbishop Coleridge said in a Monday statement “It is vital for the life of the nation that marriage be supported and promoted in every way possible at a time when it is under severe pressure.”
He argued that civil unions would reduce marriage between a man and a woman to being merely one of a number of options. He explained that marriage is a recognition that the relationship between a man and a woman is “uniquely important” to society, in large part because it can beget children.