by Leanne Wood on 27/10/2011 8:15 AM
From AAP – ABC News, nine msn website and Brisbane Times
Anglican leader backs same-sex bill
October 26, 2011
A prominent Brisbane church leader has backed the state government’s plan to legalise same-sex unions.
Dr Peter Catt, the Dean of St Johns Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane, says the legislation introduced into Queensland parliament last night is “good law-making for a pluralistic society”.“It removes discrimination and affords equal rights to same-sex couples,” Dr Catt said in a statement.
“… It does not affect the right of churches or other religious groups to celebrate marriage according to their own understanding, while also recognising the breadth of the community in which we live.”
Dr Catt stressed he was not speaking on behalf of the Anglican Church of Australia, but rather as the chair of the Social Responsibility Committee within the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane.
The state government and the opposition have spent the day trading political blows after Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser introduced the private member’s bill – the Civil Partnerships Bill – last night.
Anglicare Southern Queensland is an Anglican not-for-profit organisation providing caring and supportive services to the community