Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Scotland approves same-sex marriage, archbishop foresees challenge to Church

Scotland’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to recognize same-sex marriage, drawing an expression of keen disappointment from the Scottish Catholic bishops. 

By a vote of 105-18, lawmakers followed the path of England and Wales, which have already approved same-sex marriage. Scotland had previously allowed for registration of civil partnerships by homosexual couples. 

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said that he did not think the bill passed by parliament would require Catholic priests to officiate at same-sex marriages, but he was not certain that the Church would remain untouched. 

“We cannot exclude the eventuality that, in the future, some individuals will initiate legal action against a Catholic priest or the Church because they won't accept to celebrate gay marriages,” he said.