Archbishop warns Argentinean government is pressuring senators to vote for gay 'marriage'

La Plata, Argentina, Jul 6, 2010 / 16:04 pm

Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata in Argentina has denounced the government for pressuring some senators, who had said they would vote against homosexual “marriage,” to skip debate on the measure or to abstain during the vote.
 
During his weekly television program, the archbishop addressed the upcoming July 14 debate on the measure in the Argentinean Senate and urged that “the silent majority in Argentina speak up and say what it thinks about this measure.” He praised Argentineans for organizing protests in different parts of the country “even though the media has not covered them like they deserved.”
 
The archbishop urged that protests continue so that it is made clear that “those of us who think the social fabric of Argentina should not be altered by the law Congress is considering are not small in number.”
 
He noted that many senators who promised to oppose the law are being pressured “to skip the debate and the vote or to abstain. That is, the current administration considers it an achievement to get this law passed and is using the means to do so that we all know about and that unfortunately have become commonplace in Argentinean politics.”
 
“For this reason the people need to protest,” he added. “None of the political parties whose lawmakers are supporting this law on homosexual marriage have included it in their party platforms. They are promoting something that is of no interest to the majority of the people and that has been put before the majority of the people for a vote. In what sense, then are they representing the people of the nation?” the archbishop asked.
 
“For this reason it is necessary that the silent majority, which is excessively patient and perhaps out of ignorance allows many things to slip by, must understand that this now deals with something of capital importance and must say: ‘No, this cannot be’.”
 
“What is at stake here is something essential for the future of Argentinean society,” the archbishop stressed. “Experts have already pointed out the consequences for the legal system, for the field of law, that this alteration of the family order will have. For this reason it is important that many people clearly voice their opposition to this,” he said.