Published by BBC News on 26 December 2012.
Sir Paul Coleridge told the Times same-sex unions are a "minority issue". His comments come after the Roman Catholic Church's leader in England and Wales denounced the plans.
Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC the government had no mandate to push through same-sex marriage laws in England and Wales. And in his Christmas Eve sermon he said that marriage between men and women shares in "the creative love of God".
Sir Paul told the Times newspaper: "So much energy and time has been put into this debate for 0.1% of the population, when we have a crisis of family breakdown. While it is gratifying that marriage in any context is centre stage... but it [gay marriage] is a minority issue. We need... a more focused position by the government on the importance of marriage." Sir Paul last year launched independent charity Marriage Foundation to support married couples but said the charity did not take a stance on gay marriage. He added the breakdown of marriages and its impact on society affects 99.9% of the population, which is where more investment and time should spent.
'Strongest attack'
During his BBC interview, Archbishop Nichols said of the gay marriage plans: "There was no announcement in any party manifesto, no Green Paper, no statement in the Queen's Speech. And yet here we are on the verge of primary legislation. From a democratic point-of-view, it's a shambles. George Orwell would be proud of that manoeuvre, I think the process is shambolic." He claims during a "period of listening", those who responded were "7-1 against same-sex marriage".
In the past, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has likened committed gay relationships to "profound friendships". Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his opposition to gay marriage last week in a pre-Christmas address, saying it was destroying the very "essence of the human creature". "People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves."
The UK government has previously announced that the Church of England and Church in Wales will be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages, with other religious organisations able to "opt in" to holding ceremonies. The government plans to allow gay marriage but says it will not force religious bodies to perform services.
Related report:
Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC the government had no mandate to push through same-sex marriage laws in England and Wales. And in his Christmas Eve sermon he said that marriage between men and women shares in "the creative love of God"...
Meanwhile, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, in his final Christmas sermon in the role, admitted that the Church of England's credibility had been damaged by the recent vote against women bishops...
Speaking in his sermon at Westminster Cathedral, Archbishop Nichols said "the love of husband and wife, which is creative of new human life, is a marvellously personal sharing in the creative love of God who brings into being the eternal soul that comes to every human being with the gift of human life".
He added: "Sometimes sexual expression can be without the public bond of the faithfulness of marriage and its ordering to new life. Even governments mistakenly promote such patterns of sexual intimacy as objectively to be approved and even encouraged among the young."
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