Last updated: 11:30am, 16th November
Australia’s Parliament must work to unify the nation by respecting different views on marriage, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference said after the announcement that 61.6 per cent of Australians had voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.
Archbishop Denis Hart said in a statement that the Catholic Church “continues to view marriage as a special union between a woman and a man, which allows for the creation and nurture of children”.
“A change in civil law does not change the Catholic understanding of the nature of marriage,” he said. “The Catholic Church continues to respect the dignity of LGBTIQ Australians and our ministries will continue to care deeply about the dignity and value of all people we encounter.”
Archbishop Hart said Parliamentarians must “recognise and respect the concerns of the more than 4.8 million Australians who opposed a change to the definition of marriage by putting in place strong conscience and religious freedom protections”.
“These protections must ensure that Australians can continue to express their views on marriage, that faith-based schools can continue to teach the traditional understanding of marriage and that organisations can continue to operate in a manner that is consistent with those values.”
Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies said he accepted the result of the vote but that there must be freedom of speech, conscience and belief for Christians and others who disagree with same-sex marriage.
He said it is “quite proper” for the Parliament to legislate for same-sex marriage “in accordance with the will of the people”, [t]hat doesn’t mean I will change my views”.
“I will still continue to teach that marriage is, in God’s plan, between a man and a woman,” he said. “But I acknowledge that once the Parliament passes those laws, that will no longer be the law of the land.”
Dr Davies added that he wanted to continue to be able to uphold the church’s teaching without the law saying it was illegal to do so. “Therefore what the parliament needs to do now, in legislating for same-sex marriage, is to do so in a way which protects people’s liberties.”
In a statement, Hillsong’s Senior Pastor Brian Houston said the vote would not change his personal belief in the Bible’s teaching on marriage “and the work of our church will continue as usual as it does in many parts of the world where same sex marriage is legal”.
“It is vital however, that legislation protects the rights of churches, pastors and others to hold contrary beliefs based on the traditional teachings of scripture,” he said. “Freedom of religion is a fundamental part of a democratic society and must be upheld. Any attempt to force Christians to compromise their faith would be wrong.”
Ps Houston said that as Australia puts “what has been at times a divisive debate behind us”, his prayer was that “we replace anger, criticism, hatred and intolerance with love, understanding, acceptance and kindness”.
“Jesus taught us that holding firm to our convictions, and respecting and appreciating other people who hold different views, are not mutually exclusive.”
