Let the attack begin

There are ten countries in the world that have legalised same-sex marriage; the Scottish Executive is planning to consult on whether or not Scotland should become the eleventh.

Have a look at this.

I'm proud to be Scottish, and I am proud to be gay.  Both of these things are parts of my identity, and both have been important to helping me become the person I am. 

When I first read this article I was angry.

Here is Bishop Tartaglia, a representative of the Catholic Church in Scotland and he has the audacity to talk about "the religious and moral education of children and young people".  Really?  REALLY?!  Considering the scandal and controversy of clergy in the Catholic Church, and the steady stream of accusations that comes out year on year, I hardly think Bishop Tartaglia is in a position to talk about moral education.  Here is a man who is attacking the rights of people to express their love and committment to one another the same as everyone else.  How dare he!

But on reflection I'm glad he's launching his campaign.  Yes, you read that correctly, I'm glad.

He is bringing what is an important issue to the public consciousness.  By challenging the consultation on same-sex marriage that the Scottish Executive is launching, he is forcing people to think about an issue they might not have paid much attention to.  People will be educated, and educating themselves, on same-sex marriage and what they think about it.  Surely that can only be a good thing?

No doubt there will be LGBT groups preparing a counter campaign and argument at this very moment, and it will be through the discourse of these two sides that hopefully people will find a middle ground they can relate to and be able to make an informed decision on what they believe. 

In my opinion, the voice of the Catholic Church has become very much diluted in the public consciousness, but I would encourage Bishop Tartaglia to go forward with his plans to send postcards to 100,000 parishioners opposing this important step forward, he's doing us a favour.

It gives me hope that Portugal and Spain, two countries known for being over-whelmingly Catholic and conservative, are two of the countries in that exclusive club Scotland are looking to join.  Same-sex marriage in Scotland will be an important step forward for equality law all around the world, and will hopefully set a benchmark on this issue around Britain.

I hope when that happens Bishop Tartaglia realises the important part he played in that victory.