Irish cardinal urges opposition to homosexual civil unions

Aug 25, 2009 / 11:59 am

The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, spoke out last Sunday against recognizing civil unions for homosexuals during a homily at the Cathedral of St. John in Limerick. He said that natural law cannot be violated by legislative norms, and that natural law forms the basis for integral human development.

The cardinal recalled that nature must be used wisely, as Pope Benedict XVI explains in his encyclical “Caritas in Veritate.” 

“The book of nature is one and indivisible. It takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations—in a word—integral human development. Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other,” he said, quoting the Pope’s encyclical.

For this reason, Cardinal Brady urged the faithful to oppose a measure being debated in the Irish Parliament that would grant legal recognition to same-sex unions.

Cardinal Brady also argued that those who refuse to officiate at a same-sex "marriage" ceremony could be punished and described this as "an alarming attack on the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and conscience."

He added that the bill has the potential to allow religious organizations to be sued for "upholding their belief that marriage is an institution exclusively for men and women."