The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have sent a million postcards opposing gay marriage to parishes 
around the country and are urging parishioners to send them to their MPs.
The cards urge MPs to vote against same-sex marriage legislation being introduced into Parliament later this month. They state that marriage between a man and a woman is the foundation of society and that the Government has no mandate to redefine its meaning.
According to The Tablet, in an accompanying letter sent to priests, the Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, said that urgent action must be taken before Parliament votes on the bill, initially probably early next month.
Meanwhile, a Tory MP has warned that legalising same-sex marriage will pose a “real threat” to the freedoms of teachers with traditionalist views.
David Burrowes said classrooms would be subjected to a “new state orthodoxy” where teachers who opposed gay weddings would be gagged for fear of being sacked.
“The issue is about teachers in schools who want to uphold the view of marriage as between a man and a woman who will feel reluctant to say that’s their view,” he said.
“People will feel circumscribed by a new state orthodoxy.
“As MPs we can say it until we are blue in the face but out in the classroom there will be a real threat to their freedoms.”
He spoke out as former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey accused ministers of creating “significant problems” for public sector workers, parents and children.
In a letter to fellow peers, Lord Carey said legal advice showed churches which refused to marry gay couples could be sued and teachers sacked for refusing to teach about them.
In his letter Lord Carey said the advice of a senior lawyer prepared for the Coalition for Marriage campaign undermined the Government’s “quadruple lock” to protect churches.
Ministers intend to legally bar the Church of England from carrying out same-sex marriages and put other measures in place to ensure no church is forced to against its wishes.
But the advice from Aidan O’Neill from Matrix Chambers suggested the ban was “eminently challengeable” in the European Court of Human Rights.
Lord Carey wrote: “More worrying still has been the failure of the Government to see that they are creating significant problems for those working in the public sector, for parents and even children.
“Like you I was horrified at the treatment of Adrian Smith, the housing manager from Trafford, who was demoted and had his pay docked by 40% for posting a message to his friends on a social networking site, saying that gay marriage in churches was ‘an equality too far’.
“If the Government presses ahead with its plans, cases like Mr Smith’s will almost certainly become commonplace.”