Clause 1 - Civil partnership
Civil Partnership Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mr Chris Bryant (Rhondda, Labour)
As one who has studied a little bit of canon law and who I suspect knows a little more about it than the hon. Gentleman, I am certain that if a priest of the Church of England or the Church in Wales, a minister of the Church of Scotland or, for that matter, a Roman Catholic priest—all these act as registrars for the purposes of civil marriage, which is part of holy matrimony in this land, somewhat differently from what applies in other countries in Europe—were approached by someone who said during their marriage preparation sessions that they had been in a civil partnership for the past few years, that minister of religion would be wise to suggest to the person that they might think twice about their sexual orientation before entering into marriage.