Here you will find the response from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for England and Wales, Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship, to the Civil Partnership Review (England and Wales): A Consultation.
In light of the response Archbishop Peter Smith added:
“My recent comment on civil partnerships was solely in response to a specific government consultation on whether to abolish civil partnerships or convert them all into marriages in law. My comment should not be misunderstood. The question at issue is one of individual conscience for those who are in same sex civil partnerships and who do not want to enter into same sex marriage because of their deeply held belief that marriage is between a man and a woman only. In requesting the government to respect their consciences by leaving the existing civil partnership law unchanged, I was dealing solely with this issue of conscience which has now arisen given the current law, and my response should not be misinterpreted as a wider commentary on civil partnerships in general.”
You can download the Bishops’ Conference response using the link in the top right-hand corner of this article.
gov.uk/government/consultations
The Government published a consultation paper on the future of civil partnership in England and Wales – a full public consultation required by section 15 the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The closing date for responses was 17 April 2014.
