Monday, February 25, 2013

Catholic schools will be forced to teach about gay marriage


Edit: some may remember when an intemperate Prime Minister threatened the Catholic Church and lectured them about the need to keep with the times.  These aren’t just idle threats, it now seems.


Read correspondence between bishops and Equalities Minister

20 February 2013, 9:00
This week the bishops' conference of England and Wales published its correspondence with Maria Miller, Minister for Women and Equalities, on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.
The Government rejected proposed amendments by the Church to its gay marriage Bill, and said the new definition of marriage will have to be taught in Catholic schools.
The Church suggested a number of amendments to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill during a meeting with Culture Minister Maria Miller in January.
In a letter to Archbishop Smith that was released yesterday, Ms Miller said teachers in Catholic schools will need to reflect the fact that 'marriage is open to both opposite and same sex couples.' She said, however that 'the discussion or criticism of same sex marriage [in schools] would not be ‘of itself' discrimination under the current law,' and that this would only be the case if this took place 'in an inappropriate manner or context' which resulted in discrimination.

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