ALMOST 200 people gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth to celebrate a special Mass to mark National Marriage Day on August 13.
Despite protestors planning a rally against the event, only about a dozen same-sex marriage advocates stood outside the Victoria Square Cathedral gate handing out flyers for a rally supporting same-sex marriage next month.
While the gathering attracted a reasonable crowd, there was a marked absence of Catholic married couples younger than the age of 50.
One of the protestors, Andrew Markey, told The Record that, numerically, there was far more public support for same-sex marriage than for traditional marriage.
“From what I’ve seen, there really aren’t hundreds of people here,” he said. “The day equal marriage rights pass through parliament there will be thousands of people on the streets celebrating.”
The notional popularity of same-sex marriage in the wider community seemed to also prompt Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey after the Mass, when he emphasised the importance of giving witness to traditional marriage.
“We must give public witness to our faith; we must give public witness to the sanctity of marriage,” he said.
“In these last few years, we’ve seen our society move away from [marriage]. It is the witness of a truly committed relationship in marriage and family life that our society needs.”
In his homily, Bishop Donald Sproxton told the congregation there is much work to be done to defend marriage.
“National Marriage Day is an occasion for us to gather and to pray… for the work that needs to be done to bolster the truth about marriage in our society… and to fight the odds that may seem overwhelmingly large,” he said.
He also reminded those present to be charitable when contending with any opposition.
“It is with love that we continue to proclaim the truth and we do so with respect for those who oppose us,” he said.
“Give that message to our society patiently but decisively, give that message that marriage is unique… it’s not something that can be changed to accommodate another type of relationship.”
Bishop Sproxton also warned against the use of language such as “partner” when speaking of one’s husband or wife.
“We need to be very careful too that the word ‘marriage’ is not degraded and given new definitions,” he said.
President of the Australian Family Association John Barich announced at the conclusion of the Mass that Ron and Mavis Pirola would be the ambassadors for marriage for the next 12 months.
The couple, who have been married for 54 years, were members of the Pontifical Council of the Family from 1985 to 2010.