Heterosexual couples opt for civil partnerships

I was alarmed to read that heterosexual couples in France are increasingly opting for "gay civil partnership ceremonies" rather than marriages to avoid the possibility of expensive - wait for it - divorces!

Apparently, 90 per cent of "Civil Solidarity Pacts" a year are now being made by heterosexual couples. This is despite the fact these were specifically intended for homosexuals.

They take 15 minutes and can be done by a court clerk - and the partnership can be ended by a letter. And yes, you guessed it, the pacts provide nearly the same financial and administrative protections as proper marriages. A staggering 150,000 couples are "Pacs" in France every year, of which around 135,000 of them are heterosexuals.

The fact so many are doing this is very alarming. We now have a situation where many couples don't want to give their lives to each other and to God in marriage - in case it all goes wrong. And going into a so-called "pact" as opposed to marriage because "it might not work out after all" is certainly a positive attitude to have isn't it (obviously being overtly sarcastic)? It actually sounds quite depressing that these couples are resigned to the possibility that their "commitment" might not last long. What a relationship that's going to be. "But we'll do this pact thingy anyway so we can get all the benefits" (sorry I can't translate into French as I only did up to GCSE...).

It's ironic most people going for one of these civil partnerships (meant for gays) are heterosexual. Obviously gay civil partnerships are an abuse of the sanctity of marriage. The natural purpose of sexual union cannot be achieved by same sex partnerships, nor can a same sex couple co-operate with God to create new life. But for people of the opposite sex to opt for one of these fluffy agreements is a real visible, public sign of our "I want" society. It's the perfect example of what relativism has done.

Perhaps we can point couples thinking about opting for a civil partnership to the Catechism:

Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes.

...the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.

Either marriage is a coming together of a man and a woman who freely commit themselves to God and to bringing new life into the world - or it's an agreement written on a bit of paper and a chance for a booze up (although maybe not so much in France).

I want to be a dramatic columnist-type journalist and say this piece of news is the first nail in the coffin for the institution of marriage in western Europe. But I think the Church's indissoluble Sacrament of Marriage will prevail.