OCEANIA/NEW ZEALAND - Law and family: open debate in society today. No to homosexual couples and de facto unions: open Letter from New Zealand Bishops

Wellington (Fides Service) - ‘Civil rights, such as rights of inheritance, next-of-kin status, benefits and grants, can be ensured by other appropriate legislation, without any need to give same-sex and de facto relationships the same legal and social standing as marriage’ the Catholic Bishops of New Zealnd affirmed in a pastoral letter on the Family and Marriage distributed to be read in churches, associations and communities, 5/6 December.
The Bishops voice concern that a proposed Civil Union Bill, due to be put to the final vote in NZ Parliament this week will erode the special and unique position of marriage and the family in society.
The nine Bishops of New Zealand say “In all conscience we find ourselves obliged to take the unprecedented step of urging you to inform yourselves of how your own Member of Parliament, and the List MPs of political parties have voted on the Bill, and to make this one of the things you take into account when you cast your vote in next year’s General Election.” This is clearly a message not to vote for those who support the bill.
In the meantime National MP Richard Worth who is drafting an alternative to the bill, is proposing “civil relationships’ instead of civil unions.
In 2001 the New Zealand parliament approved four bills extending the same patrimonial rights as heterosexual couples to homosexual couples.
Debate on whether to regard heterosexual and homosexual unions in the same way started in 1998, when parliament amended the 1976 Matrimonial Property Act (which applied to married couples), extending to de facto couples the same rights and obligations deriving from marriage.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 6/12/2004 righe 32 parole 322)