Tag Archives: Same-sex marriage

Rhode Island makes it 10

Posted on by at 11:55 am
1

On thursday, Rhode Island became the 10th State to recognize the legality of same-sex marriage. Good news, right?

Well, not so fast.

Rhode Island’s Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin immediately penned a “pastoral letter” to all Catholics in the state in response to the legalization of same-sex marriage. And what a touching, warm-hearted letter it is. In part, it reads as follows:

As I have emphasized consistently in the past, the Catholic Church has respect, love and pastoral concern for our brothers and sisters who have same-sex attraction. I sincerely pray for God’s blessings upon them, that they will enjoy much health, happiness and peace. We also offer our prayerful support to families, especially parents, who often struggle with this issue when it occurs in their own homes.

Our respect and pastoral care, however, does not mean that we are free to endorse or ignore immoral or destructive behavior, whenever or however it occurs. Indeed, as St. Paul urges us, we are required to “speak the truth in love.” (Eph 4:15)

At this moment of cultural change, it is important to affirm the teaching of the Church, based on God’s word, that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2357) and always sinful. And because “same-sex marriages” are clearly contrary to God’s plan for the human family, and therefore objectively sinful, Catholics should examine their consciences very carefully before deciding whether or not to endorse same-sex relationships or attend same-sex ceremonies, realizing that to do so might harm their relationship with God and cause significant scandal to others.

So let me get this straight (to coin a phrase), the Catholic Church has “respect, love and pastoral concern” for gay people. But gay people are “intrinsically disordered” and acting on their feelings is “always sinful.” Further, all good Catholics should refuse to recognize members of their own family and friends who choose to participate in or endorse same-sex unions. This is hate, pure and simple. It is also an attempt at intrusion by a religion on the secular, civil recognition of marriage. In this country, no religion can impose its views on the state.

Related articles

Marriage quote of the day

Posted on by at 8:22 am
Reply

The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals. That’s where the compelling argument is. “We’re Americans, we just want to be treated like everybody else.” That’s a compelling argument. And to deny that, you’ve got to have a compelling argument on the other side. And the other side hasn’t been able to do anything but thump the Bible.

– Bill O’Reilly on Fox News.

Edie Windor’s statement outside the Supreme Court today

Posted on by at 2:30 pm
Reply

Edie Windsor, 83 years old, is the plaintiff who sued the Federal government because, although she was legally married, because it was a same-sex marriage the federal so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” precluded her to pay almost $400,000 in estate taxes on the property she inherited from her wife. Straight married people qualify for a substantial exclusion from the estate tax when a spouse dies.

Here is her statement after the DOMA arguments today.

Here is a statement by her lawyer.

The Onion covers the Supreme Court arguements

Posted on by at 10:01 am
Reply

You have to read this.

Excerpt:

Ten minutes into oral arguments over whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to marry one another, a visibly confounded Supreme Court stopped legal proceedings Tuesday and ruled that gay marriage was “perfectly fine” and that the court could “care less who marries whom.”

“Yeah, of course gay men and women can get married. Who gives a shit?” said Chief Justice John Roberts, who interrupted attorney Charles Cooper’s opening statement defending Proposition 8, which rescinded same-sex couples’ right to marry in California. “Why are we even seriously discussing this?”

“Does anyone else up here care about this?” Roberts added as his eight colleagues began shaking their heads and saying, “No,” “Nah,” and “I also don’t care about this.” “Great. Same-sex marriage is legal in the United States of America. Do we have anything of actual import on the docket, or are we done for the day?”

Marriage quote of the day

Posted on by at 8:52 am
Reply

“Same-sex marriage is very new,” Justice Samuel Alito whinged, noting that “it may turn out to be a good thing; it may turn out not to be a good thing.” If the standard is that marriage always has to be “a good thing,” would heterosexuals pass?

“But you want us to step in and render a decision,” Alito continued, “based on an assessment of the effects of this institution, which is newer than cellphones or the Internet? I mean, we do not have the ability to see the future.”

Swing Justice Anthony Kennedy grumbled about “uncharted waters,” and the fuddy-duddies seemed to be looking for excuses not to make a sweeping ruling. Their questions reflected a unanimous craven impulse: How do we get out of this? This court is plenty bold imposing bad decisions on the country, like anointing W. president or allowing unlimited money to flow covertly into campaigns. But given a chance to make a bold decision putting them on the right, and popular, side of history, they squirm.

– Maureen Dowd, writing in the New York Times.

Political quote of the day

Posted on by at 7:22 am
Reply

On March 27, DOMA will come before the Supreme Court, and the justices must decide whether it is consistent with the principles of a nation that honors freedom, equality and justice above all, and is therefore constitutional. As the president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our Constitution.

– President Bill Clinton, arguing against the constitutionality of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, which blocks the Federal governmental from recognizing any same-sex marriage legal under state law.

Political quote of the day

Posted on by at 6:55 am
Reply

While serving as governor of Utah, I pushed for civil unions and expanded reciprocal benefits for gay citizens. I did so not because of political pressure—indeed, at the time 70 percent of Utahns were opposed—but because as governor my role was to work for everybody, even those who didn’t have access to a powerful lobby. Civil unions, I believed, were a practical step that would bring all citizens more fully into the fabric of a state they already were—and always had been—a part of.

That was four years ago. Today we have an opportunity to do more: conservatives should start to lead again and push their states to join the nine others that allow all their citizens to marry. I’ve been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life. There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love.

All Americans should be treated equally by the law, whether they marry in a church, another religious institution, or a town hall. This does not mean that any religious group would be forced by the state to recognize relationships that run counter to their conscience. Civil equality is compatible with, and indeed promotes, freedom of conscience.

– Jon Huntsman

Civil rights quote of the day

Posted on by at 8:14 am

Religious freedom is not just for heterosexuals – we should not deny anyone the right to make a lifelong commitment to another person in front of God if that is what they believe and that is what their church allows.

– Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary and member of the British Conservative Party, supporting Prime Minister David Cameron’s proposal to legalize same sex marriage in Britain. The first parliamentary vote on the proposal, in the House of Commons, will be held on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in France:

The French National Assembly has approved the most important article of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage.

Deputies voted 249-97 in favour of redefining marriage as being an agreement between two people – not just between a man and a woman.