Pope to host interfaith ‘traditional marriage’ conference
The Pope is to host an interfaith conference dedicated to keeping “traditional marriage” between a man and a woman.
Pope Francis will open the ‘Complementary of Man and Woman’ conference on November 17, which brings together religious leaders from across different faiths who oppose same-sex marriage.
As well as representatives from the Catholic Church and other forms of Christianity, speakers from 23 countries will purportedly represent the views of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism.
Representatives from the US Southern Baptist Convention and from the Mormon church – both of which fiercely oppose same-sex marriage – are slated to attend, as part of a united front against marriage equality.
According to organisers, the conference will “examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman, in order to support and reinvigorate marriage and family life for the flourishing of human society”.
The move comes after the Church scrapped plans to become more welcoming to gays, opting instead to keep current teaching that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered”.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller – who strongly opposes relaxing the Catholic Church’s attitudes towards gay people – drove the initiative, according to the Catholic News Agency, and will make the opening remarks.
Last month, Sir Elton John hailed the Pope as a “hero”, claiming: “He is a compassionate, loving man who wants everybody to be included in the love of God.
“It is formidable what he is trying to do against many, many people in the Church.”
