Same-Sex marriage issue heats up in France as introduction of legislation nears
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| Français : Francois Hollande - Mardis de l'ESSEC (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
PARIS, France, September 14, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyons and Primate of the Gauls as he is traditionally called, has warned that legalizing same-sex “marriage” will open the way to polygamy and incest and lead to the “breakdown of society”.
Speaking to Catholic radio, RCF, the cardinal went on to caution, “Once it’s legalized, the consequences will be innumerable. They’ll want to create couples with three or four members. After that, perhaps one day, the taboo of incest will fall.”
“The word ‘marriage’ means a rampart, designed to protect the most fragile place in society, where a woman gives birth to a child, so that all conditions are met for everything to go as well as possible”, explained the cardinal.
Expanding on a phrase he used in August saying that “the Parliament is not God the Father”, Barbarin added:
“For us, the first page of the Bible (which says that marriage unites a man and a woman) has a bit more force and truth that will cross cultures and centuries, than incidental or transient decisions made by a Parliament”. “This is a choice of the government with which we do not agree”, he insisted.
The French Cardinal made these statements in an interview given shortly after meeting the French Interior minister, Manuel Valls who is visiting Lyons and who came to see the Archbishop on Friday morning; the subject of same-sex “marriage” was brought up, the cardinal said.
The full interview was to be aired on Friday evening, but the Agence France presse (AFP) which participated in its recording published the above excerpts, triggering angry responses from certain homosexual activist circles that are already accusing the cardinal of “homophobia”. The continuous news radio station France Info presented a report titled: “Cardinal Barbarin violently opposes gay marriage.”
The issue is intensifying as the date of the presentation of the same-sex “marriage” bill has been fixed for next month. On Friday afternoon, French justice minister Christiane Taubira chose to announce the government’s agenda to an “LGBT” association which is the government’s usual contact for these affairs. The “Interassociative lesbienne, gay, bi et trans”, after a one and a half-hour meeting with the minister, announced to the press that the proposed law will be presented to the Council of ministers on October 24th, and that the text is still in the process of being drafted. It is expected that president Hollande will make the final decisions himself.
A spokesman for the Interassociative, Nicolas Gougain, said that the minister presented the text as not having been finalized, making clear that in its present state it does not make provide for access of lesbian couples to artificial procreation. But Taubira was careful to add that “there was no fundamental opposition on that point and that she would follow the President’s and the Prime minister’s decision”.
During his presidential campaign, François Hollande promised that lesbian couples would have access to artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization.
Because of this there are expectations that the text could evolve to become even more favorable to the homosexual lobby’s demands. But “The government wants to move forward quickly”, Nicolas Gougain explained, likely indicating that some restrictions would be introduced into the initial bill to ensure rapid passage through Parliament.
Because of this there are expectations that the text could evolve to become even more favorable to the homosexual lobby’s demands. But “The government wants to move forward quickly”, Nicolas Gougain explained, likely indicating that some restrictions would be introduced into the initial bill to ensure rapid passage through Parliament.
Opposition to same-sex “marriage” is increasing because of these developments.
A group established for the defense of children, “Collectif pour l’enfance”, is calling for a widespread and official public consultation on the issue, a demand echoed by cardinal Barbarin this morning.
A group established for the defense of children, “Collectif pour l’enfance”, is calling for a widespread and official public consultation on the issue, a demand echoed by cardinal Barbarin this morning.
Many groups and associations, ranging from Les poissons roses (“The Pink Fishes”) which is close to the French socialist party, Catholic family associations and workers with children, to the traditionalist group “Civitas”, have already publicly voiced concerns. Civitas is organizing a demonstration in Paris on November 18th and it is expected that more widespread initiatives will take place later on.
Some individual politicians and a number of homosexual persons are also proclaiming their opposition to the legalization of gay “marriage”, as well as several representatives of French rural mayors who have been alarmed to learn that there will be no provision for conscientious objection in the government bill.
