LGBT activist drops complaint against Australian bishops over marriage booklet
A Tasmanian LGBT activist and Green Party candidate has withdrawn his discrimination complaint against the Australian Catholic Church over a booklet on marriage he claimed had caused “pain and harm” to people. At issue was the pastoral letter, Messing with Marriage , issued in booklet form and reportedly distributed to Catholic school children. It explained Catholic opposition to same-sex “marriage” and defended heterosexual marriage as “holy,” God-given and linked inextricably with procreation and child-rearing. It is still being distributed in anticipation of a promised plebiscite on the issue later in the year. The Tasmanian anti-discrimination commission, which had the option of pursuing the matter even when the complainant withdraws, has announced it is dropping the matter too. The Institute of Public Affairs ’ Simon Breheny hailed the decision as a “victory for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The laws that allowed for this complaint to be made should