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ARCHDIOCESE CLAIMS GAY MARRIAGE A SECULAR ISSUE
Statement of the Archdiocese of Washington on DC Council Bill to Redefine Marriage in the Nation's Capital
Marriage is a personal relationship with public significance. Marriage between a man and a woman transcends cultures, religions and all time. Marriage is about more than two people who love and are committed to each other.
It also is about creating and nurturing the next generation. As natural law and biology dictate, this requires both a man and a woman. Men and women complement each other physically, psychologically and emotionally and each has distinctive gifts for a child's upbringing. They are not interchangeable.
Nature intends for children to have a mother and a father. Research tells us a healthy marriage with a father and mother provides the most stable and nurturing environment for a child. This is the reason that civil governments have given marriage special recognition throughout time.
The bill introduced today by some members of the District of Columbia City Council to redefine marriage is at odds with marriage's fundamental purpose. You cannot redefine biology.
The "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" is not about religious freedom. In fact, there are legitimate concerns that this legislation will result in a loss of religious liberty of the people of the District of Columbia. If passed, the bill could require Catholics to make choices between a "law" and the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church.
Sam Smith, Progressive Review - The archdiocese's disingenuous and weak argument is significant because it appears to recognize a hidden flaw in the legal case against gay marriage, which is that opposition is overwhelmingly based on religious belief. Hence any government intervention in this matter represents an unconstitutional establishment of religion, e.g. choosing the Catholic view on the issue over that of Unitarians and Quakers. This issue has played virtually no part in the debate but the archdiocese's statement seems to recognize its importance. The Catholics have good lawyers as well as good priests.
Marriage is a personal relationship with public significance. Marriage between a man and a woman transcends cultures, religions and all time. Marriage is about more than two people who love and are committed to each other.
It also is about creating and nurturing the next generation. As natural law and biology dictate, this requires both a man and a woman. Men and women complement each other physically, psychologically and emotionally and each has distinctive gifts for a child's upbringing. They are not interchangeable.
Nature intends for children to have a mother and a father. Research tells us a healthy marriage with a father and mother provides the most stable and nurturing environment for a child. This is the reason that civil governments have given marriage special recognition throughout time.
The bill introduced today by some members of the District of Columbia City Council to redefine marriage is at odds with marriage's fundamental purpose. You cannot redefine biology.
The "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" is not about religious freedom. In fact, there are legitimate concerns that this legislation will result in a loss of religious liberty of the people of the District of Columbia. If passed, the bill could require Catholics to make choices between a "law" and the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church.
Sam Smith, Progressive Review - The archdiocese's disingenuous and weak argument is significant because it appears to recognize a hidden flaw in the legal case against gay marriage, which is that opposition is overwhelmingly based on religious belief. Hence any government intervention in this matter represents an unconstitutional establishment of religion, e.g. choosing the Catholic view on the issue over that of Unitarians and Quakers. This issue has played virtually no part in the debate but the archdiocese's statement seems to recognize its importance. The Catholics have good lawyers as well as good priests.
2 Comments:
The Iowa Supreme Court recognized the religious dimension in its landmark decision. The Roman Catholic Church is adapting to the debate.
This has been my opinion on the subject for a long time. There are many religions that find gay marriage perfectly acceptable. This means that laws against such marriages are a form of religious discrimination.
If certain extremist religious groups believe gay marriage is a sin, then their believers shouldn't engage in it and are perfectly free to refrain from engaging in it. This does not in any way entitle them to demand laws the infringe on members of other religions from following their contrasting beliefs on the subject.
FoE
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