DRC denies gay marriage support
2006-10-18 17:48
Cape Town - The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) has denied some reports on its submission to Parliament on the draft Civil Unions Bill that it endorses same-sex marriage.
Media reports regarding the DRC's submission to the home affairs portfolio committee were in some cases "un-nuanced" and did not always fully reflect all the facts, DRC general synod general secretary Kobus Gerber said on Wednesday.
The committee is weighing up whether to approve the bill separate from the existing Marriage Act, to cater for same sex partnerships.
Marriage between man and woman
Gerber said in a statement "in the interests of clarification" that the DRC viewed marriage exclusively as a relationship between one man and one woman.
"Our submission did not argue or champion gay-marriages as such, and highlighted numerous problems in the proposed legislation, which also affect the rights of the DR Church," he said.
"We pointed out that the core of the matter is a constitutional one affecting rights - those of the DRC, gays and of other religious groups whose marriages are also not recognised at the moment."
While the state had already granted specific rights to gay relationships by way of the Constitutional Court judgment, the DRC's intention was to ensure that it and other churches and groups retained the right to refer to marriage within their own definitions.
The full submission is available on the DRC website:
www.ngkerk.org.za
- SAPA