Cardinal
George Pell has said he is open to a meeting with campaigners for same-sex
marriage on condition that the campaigners cease 
condemning all opposition to
same-sex marriage as ‘homophobic’.
Gay
rights campaigners regularly label all opposition to same-sex marriage as
prejudiced, irrational or bigoted.
According to The Australian newspaper, Australian Marriage Equality wrote to
the Archbishop of Sydney on December 20 seeking a meeting to discuss their
concerns about a campaign by the Australian Catholic Church against same-sex
marriage.
Cardinal
Pell replied on December 22 that a meeting might be possible.
However,
he told them: “It would help me in considering your request for a meeting to
receive an assurance that you . . . do not regard opposition to same-sex
marriage in itself as a form of prejudice and discrimination, and that you are
prepared to say this publicly.
“I
am grateful for your request for a meeting to discuss these matters and am open
to considering such a meeting,” he wrote.
“I
can offer you no assistance on the second reason you have asked for this
meeting (to prevent Catholic clergy from actively campaigning against same-sex
marriage), and on most of the substantive matters I expect we will have to
agree to disagree.
“But
it is always good to talk whenever this might be helpful.”
Cardinal
Pell said he was prepared to meet a same-sex couple who have been civilly
married in another jurisdiction if a Catholic married couple could also be
present “so that they can explain their concerns about same-sex marriage
and what it might mean for the sort of commitment they have made”.
In
his letter in reply, Peter Furness, acting national convenor of the gay
marriage campaign, said he would be happy for Cardinal Pell to be accompanied
by a Catholic married couple.
A
spokesman for the gay marriage campaign, Rodney Croome, told The Australian he
was willing to concede that the Catholic Church did not intend to discriminate,
meeting part of Cardinal Pell’s demand for a meeting.