Irish Wedding News
12/09/2013
According to the BBC, MSPs heard the Kirk had "deep concerns" regarding the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.
The bill has been designed in a way to protect the rights of religious groups who do not wish to carry out same-sex weddings, however the Church are concerned that this protection could still be challenged in court.
Appearing before Holyrood's Equal Opportunities Committee, which is currently scrutinising the bill, Reverend Alan Hamilton said the legislation could be an "invitation" to take religious bodies to court.
He added: "We are voluntary bodies. We rely upon the donations of our members, and the thought of years of exhausting legal challenge, which is also incredibly expensive, is really very concerning.
"That is why the General Assembly of 2013 in May of this year instructed my committee, together with other councils and committees of the Church of Scotland, to consider whether in fact - and I'm saying this colloquially, this is not the terms of the deliverance of the General Assembly - whether it's worth the Church of Scotland continuing to offer marriages in Scotland.
"It gives us considerable problems internally; we're deeply concerned about the threat externally."
When the Scottish Government published its proposals in June, the Church of Scotland called for freedom of religious belief and practice to be respected. At the time, the government said that religious bodies wishing to conduct same-sex marriages would have to opt-in. It added that protection would be in place for those who believed the ceremonies to be contrary to their faith.
(JP/CD)
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Kirk 'May Stop Conducting Marriages'
The Church of Scotland has said it might stop having to conduct marriages if same-sex legislation led to expensive court challenges.According to the BBC, MSPs heard the Kirk had "deep concerns" regarding the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.
The bill has been designed in a way to protect the rights of religious groups who do not wish to carry out same-sex weddings, however the Church are concerned that this protection could still be challenged in court.
Appearing before Holyrood's Equal Opportunities Committee, which is currently scrutinising the bill, Reverend Alan Hamilton said the legislation could be an "invitation" to take religious bodies to court.
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He added: "We are voluntary bodies. We rely upon the donations of our members, and the thought of years of exhausting legal challenge, which is also incredibly expensive, is really very concerning.
"That is why the General Assembly of 2013 in May of this year instructed my committee, together with other councils and committees of the Church of Scotland, to consider whether in fact - and I'm saying this colloquially, this is not the terms of the deliverance of the General Assembly - whether it's worth the Church of Scotland continuing to offer marriages in Scotland.
"It gives us considerable problems internally; we're deeply concerned about the threat externally."
When the Scottish Government published its proposals in June, the Church of Scotland called for freedom of religious belief and practice to be respected. At the time, the government said that religious bodies wishing to conduct same-sex marriages would have to opt-in. It added that protection would be in place for those who believed the ceremonies to be contrary to their faith.
(JP/CD)
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