Minister happy to consecrate gay unions

By Kate McIlwain
Updated November 6 2012 - 3:30am, first published February 13 2012 - 10:16am
Church on the Mall supply minister Rex Graham says he is "favourably disposed" to marrying gay couples, but would wait to hear from the Uniting Church first - if same-sex marriage laws pass Parliament. Picture: ROBERT PEET
Church on the Mall supply minister Rex Graham says he is "favourably disposed" to marrying gay couples, but would wait to hear from the Uniting Church first - if same-sex marriage laws pass Parliament. Picture: ROBERT PEET

Wollongong Uniting Church minister Reverend Rex Graham supports same-sex marriage but says other churches should not be forced to marry couples if it goes against their conscience."No-one should be forced to do something against their conscience and it would be quite untenable for the state to impose [this] onto faith communities," he said.The supply minister at Wollongong Mission, the Church on the Mall, would ideally like to see a separate gay marriage act giving same-sex couples the same recognition and rights of heterosexual couples, but he also supported the ideas behind Stephen Jones' same-sex marriage bill.Rev Graham said he was "favourably disposed" to marrying same-sex couples but would need to hear the guidance of the wider Uniting Church before making a decision.For other Illawarra religious leaders the bid to exempt churches from marrying same-sex couples failed to change their views.Catholic Diocese of Wollongong's Bishop Peter Ingham said Mr Jones' amendment was simply a "sweetener". "Even if there were no amendment, a Catholic priest or deacon could not officiate at such a union," he said.He did not agree with altering the definition of marriage because it had "stood since time immemorial as the basis on which our society is built".Reverend Sandy Grant from St Michael's Anglican Cathedral in Wollongong said he was strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and disappointed that Mr Jones had introduced the bill to Parliament."I'm very disappointed that Mr Jones has chosen to introduce this bill before going to a federal election with that policy," he said.While Rev Grant said he appreciated Mr Jones' bid to "safeguard the consciences and religious liberties of people of various faiths" by making churches exempt from marrying gay and lesbian couples, he said the amendment didn't change his views."I appreciate the attempt but I think the attempt misunderstands the reason we defend the traditional understanding of marriage. We think the traditional understanding of marriage applies to all people and it's for the good of all people, even if they don't realise it," he said.

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