The 7th Sacrament : the 'sacrament of relationships' ?

Terry Prendergast, chief executive of Marriage Care, also known as Catholic Marriage Care has said that the Church must begin to think in terms of the' sacrament of relationships' rather than the sacrament of marriage.

From the Catholic Herald:

In a speech to the Roman Catholic Caucus of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement Mr Prendergast said: "I have been thinking more and more of the sacrament of relationships, rather than the sacrament of marriage, if we are to believe that God's presence is expressed through all committed and loving relationships. "It is my belief that the sacrament is present where you have love, commitment, consent, and covenant," he said.

"On this basis I wonder how it is possible for anyone to make an adverse judgment about such relationships... who can argue with the presence of grace and sacrament therein? Who is in a position to say that such a spiritual and graceful life is only available to heterosexuals?"


Wasn't it Jesus Christ who instituted the seven Sacraments of the Church, the seventh being the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

CCC.1601." The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."

And further:

CCC.2357." Basing itself on Sacred Scripture which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, Tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are always intrinsically disordered". They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. they do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."

I wonder if Terry needs a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church?

Update:
I see Fr. Richard Aladics (Friends with Christ blog) has a number of posts on Christian marriage; the latest begins ' It is Christ who reveals the truth about marriage'. Do pay a visit to Fr.'s excellent blog.