London, England, Mar 13, 2012 / 03:34 am
As the British government considers a proposal to institute same-sex “marriage,” the leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Wales have warned that it will lead to further social breakdown.
“We have a duty to married people today, and to those who come after us, to do all we can to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations,” wrote Archbishop Vincent G. Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Peter D. Smith of Southwark, in a letter released March 8.
Current law, they said, “does not discriminate unjustly when it requires both a man and a woman for marriage. It simply recognizes and protects the distinctive nature of marriage.”
A change in the legal definition “would be a profoundly radical step. Its consequences should be taken seriously now.”