Um, I haven't read all of the thread but I'd just like to make a general point to those on here who are accusing people of "picking and choosing" which bits of a religion they which then (supposedly) makes them hypocritical.
Sorry. But that's a terribly naieve and simplistic view. Most of the major faiths embrace a spectrum of believers who range from fundamentalist to liberal.
As Rhubarb says - there are loads of us liberal Catholics out there who practice their faith partly for cultural reasons (ie that we were brought up in the church and we feel comfortable with its rites and rituals), partly because we follow basic Christian teachings (ie the life of Christ) and Catholicism happens to be our particular branch of that ,and thirdly because MANY (but by no means all) of the things Catholicism stands for are good, believe it or not.
We don't just sit in the pews like cabbages and unthinkingly accept all that we are told. We agree with some of it, some of it we find difficult and we struggle but try and work on ourselves, and sometimes (as in this case) we downright disagree and express that view.
In fact, I happened to see a priest at dd's school this lunch time and made my views known about this issue and he totally agreed with me.
I therefore remain a Catholic (a struggling one) and I hope to influence the way the Church develops in a small way too.
Um, that's all really.