A group of Christian leaders have slammed a letter from Roman Catholic bishops to youth condemning marriage equality. The letter to "Kiwis of Generation Y" from all six of New Zealand's Catholic bishops advises against allowing same-sex couples to marry in the eyes of the law for the sake of "society as a whole". "This is no small matter, nor quibbling about words; this is an attempt to re-engineer the status and structure of family life in New Zealand," they wrote. A letter from Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and Quaker bishops and congregation members calls on the bishops to reconsider their position. "We think it's time the Church recognises and encourages those in same-gender relationships who wish to pledge their love and fidelity to each other in the rite of marriage," the group wrote back to the bishops. "To suggest, as you do, that marriage based on biblical precepts is frozen in stone and cannot develop or change is to ignore reality."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 21st August 2012 - 10:03am