The Catholic archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith, head of the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has commented on the decision of the British government to legalise homosexual unions. “The introduction of civil partnership as a legal institution will have a significant and lasting social and cultural impact”, he said. “The government has in effect legalized same-sex unions in all but name. The result poses a real danger that the deeply rooted understanding of marriage as a permanent and exclusive relationship between a man and a woman and as the best environment for bringing up children will be destroyed”. According to the archbishop, the legalization of homosexual unions decided by the British government “will threaten” rather than support and promote marriage because it is not based on the natural complementarity between man and woman. The archbishop stressed that same-sex unions are very different in nature from marriage since “a homosexual couple cannot cooperate with God in creating a new life”. This is a task that, according to the archbishop, has an impact on the whole of society. “For centuries the legal recognition of marriage, including the advantages that accompany it, has reflected not only the personal commitment of the couple but also the social commitment of husband and wife for the well-being of society through the procreation and bringing up of children”. Archbishop Smith reiterated that the bishops of England and Wales are committed to the support of marriage, which he called “an immutable ideal” and “a vital anchor” in a rapidly changing world.
