Saturday, January 26, 2013
Commonsense applies on equal marriage
According to the Western Mail, the Government has backed down on its decision to legally prevent the Church in Wales to make its own mind up as to whether it will conduct gay marriages or not.
The paper says that the Church will now be able to overturn the ban on carrying out gay marriage ceremonies without having to bring forward new legislation:
The Church in Wales and Church of England were both banned from carrying out the ceremonies under a “quadruple lock” system designed to protect churches from legal challenges if they refused to carry them out. Other religious organisations will be able to opt-in to the legislation if they wish to carry them out.
But representatives from the Church in Wales, including Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan, claimed they had not been consulted on the ban, and had entered into talks to relax the ban.
In a statement issued on Friday morning, a spokeswoman for the Church in Wales said it had been in talks with the government to “understand and accommodate” the position in the equal marriage bill.
Under the new arrangements, the Church in Wales will still be subject to the ban, but will be able to change the law without the need for complex and time-consuming primary legislation, should it change its own rules. Its disestablished status - in contrast to the Church of England - meant this would have been necessary.
She said: “As a disestablished church with a legal duty to marry the Church in Wales is uniquely placed. The Bill provides protection for the Church whilst still enabling it to make its own decision on same-sex marriage.
“Under the Bill, the duty of Church in Wales ministers to marry will not be extended to same-sex couples.
“However, should the Church’s governing body decide in the future that the Church wishes to conduct such marriages, there is provision in the Bill for the law to be altered without the need for further primary legislation by Parliament.
“Instead, a resolution from the Church’s governing body would trigger an order by the Lord Chancellor for the necessary legal changes to be made.”
Commonsense has prevailed and the Government has listened. Good.
The paper says that the Church will now be able to overturn the ban on carrying out gay marriage ceremonies without having to bring forward new legislation:
The Church in Wales and Church of England were both banned from carrying out the ceremonies under a “quadruple lock” system designed to protect churches from legal challenges if they refused to carry them out. Other religious organisations will be able to opt-in to the legislation if they wish to carry them out.
But representatives from the Church in Wales, including Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan, claimed they had not been consulted on the ban, and had entered into talks to relax the ban.
In a statement issued on Friday morning, a spokeswoman for the Church in Wales said it had been in talks with the government to “understand and accommodate” the position in the equal marriage bill.
Under the new arrangements, the Church in Wales will still be subject to the ban, but will be able to change the law without the need for complex and time-consuming primary legislation, should it change its own rules. Its disestablished status - in contrast to the Church of England - meant this would have been necessary.
She said: “As a disestablished church with a legal duty to marry the Church in Wales is uniquely placed. The Bill provides protection for the Church whilst still enabling it to make its own decision on same-sex marriage.
“Under the Bill, the duty of Church in Wales ministers to marry will not be extended to same-sex couples.
“However, should the Church’s governing body decide in the future that the Church wishes to conduct such marriages, there is provision in the Bill for the law to be altered without the need for further primary legislation by Parliament.
“Instead, a resolution from the Church’s governing body would trigger an order by the Lord Chancellor for the necessary legal changes to be made.”
Commonsense has prevailed and the Government has listened. Good.
