Gay marriage referendum could set unwelcome precedent for RC church

Many Catholics, Presbyterians and Evangelicals will agree with Philip Dolan's endorsement of Cardinal Keith O'Brien's decision to terminate formal relationships with the First Minister as the result of the Government's proposed plans for gay marriage (Letters, August, 21).

Both he and the Catholic bishops should, however, be careful what they wish for in their accompanying criticism of the SNP administration's failure to permit a referendum on the issue. If the Scottish Government were to accede to this demand, how could it logically resist any subsequent demands to hold referendums on a range of other issues on which the church would perhaps be a lot less likely to secure a favourable result? For example, on Margo MacDonald's proposed "right-to-die" legislation? Or one on the restoration of capital punishment, which the church opposes?

Please enable cookies in your browser to display the rest of this article.