Sydney's Archbishop Anthony Fisher has expressed concern about religious freedom in Australia as the country enters the last month of its postal survey on same-sex marriage.
In a homily at St Mary's Cathedral on 15 October, Archbishop Fisher said the state had no business telling people who they should love, while the Church had no business "ritualising" relationships other than heterosexual marriage.
"Governments should, in general, keep out of the friendship business and out of the bedroom," he said. "The only kind of friendship the state has a proper interest in recognising and regulating is heterosexual marriage, because that's what leads to children - new citizens - and gives them the best start in life.
"Likewise, it's no business of the Church to be ritualising other relationships: the only kind that can be a natural marriage and, if between two baptised people, a sacramental one is that between a man and wife. We are not saying [other friendships] are less, or unworthy of support, or not genuine: we are simply recognising that they are not marriage."
Archbishop Fisher said the Church could continue to support laws and customs that honoured man and wife becoming one flesh, while also respecting and caring for all. That was Christ's way, he said.
"In a culture which for all its putative open-mindedness is less and less tolerant of Christianity, how will we ensure in the years ahead that people in parishes, schools and other institutions are free to speak and practise their beliefs?” Archbishop Fisher asked. “Sadly, the ideologues paint religious believers as homophobes and try to shut us out of the debates for the soul of our culture … So it is not unreasonable to say that until freedom of religion protections are in place, we cannot support any change to marriage laws.”
The Archdiocese of Sydney had joined the Anglican diocese of Australia's most populous city in being leading sponsors of the Coalition for Marriage, a leading advocacy group in the "No" campaign.
Sydney's Anglican Archbishop, Dr Glenn Davies, told his Synod on 9 October that the Diocesan Standing Committee had donated A$1 million (£593,000) to the Coalition for Marriage.
“Brothers and sisters, the stakes are high and the cost is high,” Archbishop Davies said. "Yet the cause is just and it is a consequence of our discipleship to uphold the gift of marriage as God has designed it — a creation ordinance for all people.
"I therefore make no apology for encouraging all Australians, especially Anglicans, to vote ‘No’ in this postal survey.”
PICTURE: Archbishop of Sydney, Reverend Anthony Fisher
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