Separate, but not equal

[NewsWhore]

During the Dominican Bishops Conference, Catholic bishops expressed their opposition to the General Religious Association bill that would offer similar privileges to those enjoyed by Catholics to other religious organizations. The bishops argue the bill would allow for unlicensed or ill-prepared preachers to celebrate marriages in the DR. In a letter presented during the conference, the bishops came out against the government granting equality to all churches or religious sects in the country. Deputy Eugenio Cedeno Areche drafted the bill that proposed granting non-Catholic religious entities the same legal rights to perform marriages for Dominicans and foreigners alike in the DR. At present, only marriages in Catholic churches are legally valid. Other religious marriages have to go through a civil service as well.

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