The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is now able to perform legal same-sex marriages in New Zealand after the Registrar- general of Marriages officially recognised the church’s beliefs and convictions as being in line with the Marriage Act. The church which is widely thought to be satirical, applied for approval to solemnise marriages in November and were granted the right this month. Registrar-general of births, deaths and marriages, Jeff Montgomery says; "In considering the matter I have referred to the Objects of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, reviewed material available online about this organisation and considered other organisations already able to nominate marriage celebrants. "A review of media and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's international website show a consistent presentation of their philosophies. While some claim this is a 'parody organisation', members have rebutted this on a number of occasions.” He went on to say: ”As registrar-general it is my role to apply the relevant legislation. In this case, my decision can only be based on whether the organisation upholds or promotes religious beliefs, or philosophical or humanitarian convictions. "No judgment is made on the validity of those beliefs or convictions.” Church members are well known for wearing colanders on their heads and describe the religion as “pastafarianism”.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 17th December 2015 - 2:34pm