New British law has potential to force bishops to ordain transsexuals

[Linda_Marie]

Here we go again. Close on the heels of the Swiss government interfering with internal Church matters in using labour laws to forbid the removal of a dissident priest, here we have Britain passing a law which has the potential to force the Church to ordain transsexuals or allow them to be nuns.

Being a priest or a nun is not a job, it is a vocation.

On one hand, they tell us that we need to vet our candidates for priesthood more carefully to weed out potential abusers. Now they tell us that we can’t look at people’s past in determining their eligibility.

New British law has potential to force bishops to ordain transsexuals
catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=10370

 

[Dale_M]

The bishops said proposals to ban “indirect discrimination” against people who have had gender reassignment operations would take away their right to check baptismal and confirmation certificates which would show if candidates for the priesthood, religious life or marriage had a hidden past… The government plans to change the law so that such records are altered when a person has such an operation.

I am unfamiliar with British standards, but in the U.S. this would be considered an unconscionable breach of the separation of church and state. Government should not be dictating changes in Church records.

 

[lizaanne]

I am unfamiliar with British standards, but in the U.S. this would be considered an unconscionable breach of the separation of church and state. Government should not be dictating changes in Church records.

There is no separation of Church and State in the UK. The system is totally different there - you can not apply American standards or thinking to the problem.

~Liza

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

If the government forces such (not that this should be encouraged by any thinking person!), the UK would have to have its priests trained and ordained elsewhere, and ship them back into the country once ordained. The seminaries in other countries would have the option not to accept those with these issues.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

There’s no separation of church and state in the U.S. either. . .though there IS an establishment clause and a free exercise clause in the First Amendment.

“Separation of church and state” is a phrase which comes from a private letter of Thomas Jefferson’s in the early 19th century (1802, to the Danbury Baptist Church) which phrase was referenced in the latter part of the 19th century by the Supreme Court, and then further referenced by the S.C. in cases starting from 1947.

 

[Linda_Marie]

I think that we have to remember that the Church is not an American entity. Just because such things seem to be protected under American law does not mean that the Church is protected world-wide. Anyway, imho, it is just a matter of time before these applications of anti-discrimination laws supercede the Constitutional protections of the 1st Amendment in the US. Remember - it is a ‘living document’.

Will all Catholic seminaries in Britain be closed as they have had to close their adoption agencies? The implication for British Catholics is appalling.

Many countries have these anti-discrimination laws, especially in Europe. Where will we be able to train priests and religious if governments interfere with our selection/training processes? Will we be reduced to having all priests trained/ordained at the Vatican?

The Church is under attack in many ways and in many places. Pope Benedict is right - the Church is going to be much smaller.

 

[Catholic29]

I would bet the UK bishops will have to send their seminarians either to Rome or Maynooth in Ireland for training and ordination, and then be sent back to Britain for their assignments.

The law is sick to be sure, but thats par for the course in much of western Europe these days.

 

[Suat]

This is why separation of church and state is a good thing, it protects the freedom of the church to continue operating as it wishes. Now if only the religious would remember this when they petition for/demand the inclusion of religious traditions in what should be secular government activities.

 

[m134e5]

Here we go again. Close on the heels of the Swiss government interfering with internal Church matters in using labour laws to forbid the removal of a dissident priest, here we have Britain passing a law which has the potential to force the Church to ordain transsexuals or allow them to be nuns.

Being a priest or a nun is not a job, it is a vocation.

On one hand, they tell us that we need to vet our candidates for priesthood more carefully to weed out potential abusers. Now they tell us that we can’t look at people’s past in determining their eligibility.

New British law has potential to force bishops to ordain transsexuals
catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=10370

British law once outlawed Catholicism altogether. That didn’t stop the Church, and this won’t either.

 

[SILVERNAME]

This is why separation of church and state is a good thing, it protects the freedom of the church to continue operating as it wishes. Now if only the religious would remember this when they petition for/demand the inclusion of religious traditions in what should be secular government activities.

There is no such thing as separation of Church and State.

That is just a liberal/socialist/humanist/pagan fantasy.

But there is such a thing as freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.

Both are God-given human rights which are being violated by this immoral anti-Christian loony british law.

The state cannot interfere in Church matters, but the Church can and should get involved in state matters especially when it has something to do with morality, human life, traditional family and traditional marriage.

For the Church is part of society. But the state is not part of the Church.

I guess there is no more freedom of religion and freedom of conscience in Britain.

maybe they should start calling it the peoples socialist republic of Great Britain