Displaying items by tag: Archbishop Porteous
A Catholic Response to the Marriage Debate
While Dave Pellowe has written a very useful article intended to equip Protestant pastors, I thought I'd put together some resources specifically for Catholics or for those who want to understand the Church's stance on marriage. There has been a great deal of misinformation in Catholic circles regarding the marriage debate: while the Church's teaching is very clear, there are those who are content to deviate from this teaching and promote their own views - views which may in some circumstances be classified as formal heresy. [See Edward Peter's article linked below.] One example of this is a statement from Jesuit lecturer Fr. Frank Brennan, which suggests that it is appropriate for Catholics to support the redefinition of marriage and that it may even be 'good for society.' [Click here to read his views.]
Are We Free to Disagree?
Another week, another encroachment on our freedoms - that's how it feels in Australia these days. The latest outrage is that there appears to be some doubt as to whether or not a plebiscite to decide the marriage issue will be supported in the Senate, or if we citizens will be deemed too ignorant to vote on it, and be made to leave the decision to our parliamentarians. 'Marriage Equality' Ammunition I was fortunate to be able to see Brendan O'Neill speak in Melbourne last week. For those of you who haven't heard of Brendan, he is an online journalist with Spiked Online, and an atheist libertarian. Brendan gave his Christian audience some fresh insights into the marriage debate and proved, yet again, that this isn't a religious issue, but a natural law (and common-sense) one. Brendan has been ostracised and publicly vilified for his stance on marriage, simply because he doesn't agree with the fashionable ideology of marriage redefinition.