UK’s top Catholic bishop endorses gay civil unions despite Vatican condemnation

by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
12/01/2011

(LifeSiteNews.com) - According to The Tablet, the Archbishop of Westminster, England, has publicly expressed support for homosexual civil unions, a move that appears to put him at odds with a clear Vatican decree against supporting such unions confirmed by Pope John Paul II and then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) in 2003.

The Tablet reports that, while acknowledging that marriage and civil partnerships are not equal, Archbishop Vincent Nichols stated in a press conference late last month: “we would want to emphasise that civil partnerships actually provide a structure in which people of the same sex who want a lifelong relationship [and] a lifelong partnership can find their place and protection and legal provision.”

“As a Church we are very committed to the notion of equality so that people are treated the same across all the activities of life,” Nichols is reported to have said. “The Church holds great store by the value of commitment in relationships and undertakings that people give. Stability in society depends upon the reliability of commitments that people give. That might be in offering to do a job but especially in their relationships with one another. Equality and commitment are both very important and we fully support them.”

According to The Telegraph, Nichols said that he is “very disappointed” with the government’s plans to move in the direction of legalizing homosexual “marriage.” the rest