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The threat of an unprecedented clash between church and state overthe issue of gay marriage has opened up after the Church of Englanddelivered an uncompromising warning to the government againstpressing ahead with controversial proposals. Introducing same-sex marriage could lead to the church being forcedout of its role of conducting weddings on behalf of the state, thechurch claimed in a potentially explosive submission in response tothe government's consultation on gay marriage, which closes onThursday. The submission's warning of a potential clash between canon law that marriage is between a man and a woman and that ofparliament is likely to put pressure on the prime minister, DavidCameron, who has spoken out in support of gay marriage and alreadycome under fire from supporters of the proposals for allowing afree vote amongst Tory MPs. In a 13-page submission, the church says it cannot support theproposal to enable all couples, regardless of their gender, to havea civil marriage ceremony. "Such a move would alter the intrinsic nature of marriage as theunion of a man and a woman, as enshrined in human institutionsthroughout history," it says. "Marriage benefits society in many ways, not only by promotingmutuality and fidelity, but also by acknowledging an underlyingbiological complementarity which, for many, includes thepossibility of procreation." The controversy comes at a particularly delicate time for thechurch itself, which is in the middle of a process that will choosea new Archbishop of Canterbury later this year to replace Dr RowanWilliams. Internal debates on gay rights have been particularly heated during his tenure as he struggled tobalance the CofE's own factions at the same time as holdingtogether the disparate worldwide Anglican communion of 80 millionmembers. The church's submission warns that despite ministerial assurancesthat churches would not have to conduct gay marriages, it would be"very doubtful" whether limiting same-sex couples to non-religiousceremonies would withstand a challenge at the European court ofhuman rights. This could make it impossible for the CofE to continue its roleconducting marriages on behalf of the state, it warned. Under the current law, anyone who is resident in England has alegal right to marry in his or her CofE parish church irrespectiveof religious affiliation. About a quarter of weddings in Englandtake place in CofE churches. The church position as set out in the submission, which notes theCofE's "unique position" in relation to the performing of marriageceremonies, potentially raises the prospect of the biggest rupturebetween the state and the Church of England since it became theestablished church 500 years ago. It claims the proposals would redefine institution of marriage inEnglish law, warning: "At the very least that raises new and as yetunexplored questions about the implications for the current dutieswhich English law imposes on clergy of the Established Church." Complaining that several "major elements" of the government'sproposals had not been thought through and were not legally"sound", the church said introducing gay marriage could also leadto challenges to civil partnership law, as removing the concept ofgender from marriage while leaving it in place for civilpartnerships would be unlikely to be "legally sustainable". The Rt Rev Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, said the CofE had beensupportive of civil partnerships when the legislation wasintroduced eight years ago. But he added: "I think the difficulty we have here is thesubstitution of equality for uniformity, that is to say that there can be no distinction atall between men and women. The government is seeking to meet whatit perceives to be the needs of the gay community. I would say thatthe Church of England is sympathetic to those needs, we want to seea society in which gay people are fully included and their needsare fully provided for.""But this does not amount to a basis forintroducing a complete redefinition of the concept of marriagebased on a consultation process which is at the very least rapid "From a standing start within three months to arrive at a fullyconsidered, weighed and articulated redefinition of a fundamentalsocial institution which has been thought about in one particularway for centuries and which is broadly accepted as a socialinstitution in the same way internationally - to change all that onthe basis of a consultation like this seems to be at the very leastunwise and ill considered." The government has already been warned on the issue by theArchbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, regarded as a seriouscontender to replace Dr Williams. The second most senior bishop in the Church of England said inJanuary that legalising gay marriage would overturn centuries of traditionand that marriage should only be between men and women. The church's submission came under fire from gay rights campaignerssuch as Peter Tatchell, who accused it of "scaremongering,exaggerating the effects of same-sex marriage and advocating legaldiscrimination". He added: "The government's proposals concern only civil marriagesin register offices. They will have no impact on faithorganisations or places of worship. Senior churchmen are protestingagainst a law change that will not affect them. "They have no right to demand that gay couples should be bannedfrom civil marriage ceremonies." Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, which campaigns forgay rights, said: "There's manifestly no evidence that therecognition of long-term same-sex relationships has any impact onthe institution of marriage for heterosexuals. "It seems odd that the Church of England should be obsessing abouta few thousand gay couples once again when there are currently 3million children in Britain living in single-parent households." A Home Office spokesman said: "The purpose of the equal civilmarriage consultation is to enable us to listen to all views,including those of all religions. "Marriage is one of the most important institutions we have. Itbinds us together, it brings stability, and it makes this countrystronger. We have been clear that no religious organisation will beforced to conduct same-sex marriages as a result of our proposals. "We welcome the Church of England's response and we will becarefully considering all points of view before publishing theoutcome of the consultation later in the year.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Mobile POS Terminals , Rugged Industrial Computer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits GIS Terminal.
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