British bishops urge government to discard cohabitation proposals

Published: 2006-10-10

LONDON (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have urged British government advisers to discard proposals to grant the rights of married couples to couples who are cohabiting. They said the proposals would send out a "powerful signal that the state had no interest in the institution of marriage." The bishops said the proposals posed a "grave risk" to marriage, and the government should take steps instead to support marriage. "A man and a woman who are simply cohabiting have the very clear option to marry and consequently enjoy the benefits of being married," the bishops said in a September statement to the Law Commission, an independent body established by Parliament to draw up key reforms to laws. "The gradual erosion of tax and benefits has already led to a downgrading of the institution of marriage, and to provide the existing and fewer financial and testamentary benefits ... to those living outside a marital relationship would undoubtedly lead to a further undermining of the institution of marriage," the bishops said. "It would inevitably lead to the question, 'Why marry at all?'"

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