France
is different, known for its food and wines, beautiful countryside, and the
French Revolution (1789) with its principles of Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity, which changed the world. The French think differently. They love
ideas.For about a decade the French Catholic Church has not raised its voice much in public life. But that changed in August.
On the feast of the Assumption the
present Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Vingt-Trois sparked a controversy, when
he prayed: "May children and young people cease being simply the object of
the desires and conflicts of adults, so they can enjoy fully the love of a
father and mother."
The fact that homosexual marriage was
on the political agenda caused the reaction.
Surprisingly France's most famous
newspaper, Le Monde, published an article by a leading public intellectual and
Catholic convert backing the cardinal.
Public opinion did not expect much
other support for the archbishop, but this came from unexpected sources when,
on November 7, the Council of Ministers approved homosexual marriage.
The Minister for Justice let the cat
out of the bag when she told the cardinal that "what is at stake is a
reform of civilisation". He agreed, saying the change would redefine
humanity, the roles of men and women and procreation.
He made no appeal to Bible teaching,
saying the issue touched the nature of human life. Unlike us, who concentrate
on the small number of couples who would enter homosexual marriages, or the
short-term practical consequences, many of the French from both sides of the
fence realise basic issues are at stake. They know ideas are powerful and will
be taught in schools to the next generation.
On November 17 hundreds of thousands
marched through the streets of Paris and a dozen other cities supporting traditional
marriage.
The uprising was led by a gossip
columnist Frigide Barjot, the socialist Laurence Tcheng from a movement called
The Left For The Republican Marriage, and an atheist homosexual Xavier
Bongibault, founder of a movement called More Gay Without Marriage.
The feminist philosopher Sylviane
Agacinski, wife of a former socialist prime minister, strongly criticised those
who claim sexual differences are not founded in nature, but simply ways of
thinking, cultural constructs.
The Chief Rabbi of France, the mufti
and even the foreign spokesman of the Russian Orthodox Church joined the fray
to defend marriage.
All the parties know what is at
stake.
Cardinal George Pell is Archbishop of
Sydney
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