Catholic Church Still Opposed to Cohabitation Rights Despite Anglican Approval
Posted on October 13, 2006

By The Universe: The Catholic Church and the Church of England have found themselves on opposite sides of the fence on the debate over Government proposals to offer cohabiting couples the same rights as married ones.

Responding to recommendations from the Law Commission, which proposed to offer cohabiting couples the same legal rights as married couples are offered in the event of a break-up in the relationship, the Church of England backed the proposals and said it was "sympathetic" to law reform for couples where children were involved, and that in some cases reform was necessary "to prevent manifest injustice."

The Bishop of Southwark, the Right Reverend Tom Butler, who heads the Anglican Church's mission and public affairs council, said: "We're saying we will look, we will look at legislation that the government puts forward to help vulnerable children, who are caught up in relationships which break down, but the test will be that this does not downgrade the position of marriage.

"However, that is not the line being towed by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, who have urged Government advisers to discard proposals saying that they send out a "powerful signal that the state had no interest in the institution of marriage." the rest