The homosexual question is never far away from the thinking of our church personal by the look of it and it seems it is always able to stir up extremely strong emotions from all sides.

The latest statement by Ballycastle Born Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and one of the UK’s most senior Clerics certainly doesn’t mince his words in a statement he made this week referring to a government consultation on same sex marriage.

He believes that Civil Partnerships are “harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved” I personally would tend to think that these effects would probably apply more to a lesbian or gay person who got married to a person of the opposite sex within the church, thinking that life would be easier for them. Yes conforming to what is expected of you by family and friends and society has seemed the easier option for may LGB people. Of course you can choose not to follow your true desires but you can’t stop those desires if they are there and trying to would certainly be harmful to your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing indeed. It still happens though!

The Cardinal goes on to suggest that “If marriage can be redefined so that it no longer means a man and a woman but two men or two women, why stop there? Why not allow three men or a woman and two men to constitute a marriage” It seems there always has to be a sensationalist element to these statements.

He states “If same-sex marriage is enacted into law what will happen to the teacher who wants to tell pupils that marriage can only mean – and has only ever meant – the union of a man and a woman?” I would think that he is suggesting their fate would be the same as a teacher in a faith school at present who wants to tell pupils that there are other types of equally valid relationships as well as “the union of a man and a woman”!