WASHINGTON (EWTN News/CNA)—Several dozen religious leaders joined together against redefining marriage in America, warning that such a move would have “far-reaching consequences” for religious freedom.
In a Jan. 12 open letter to all Americans, the leaders described marriage and religious liberty as “fundamental goods that stand or fall together.”
They noted that if the civil definition of marriage is changed to include same-sex couples, the government “will compel special recognition of relationships” that many communities “cannot, in conscience, affirm.”
Those who signed the letter included Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, and Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.
Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., head of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, also signed the letter, along with Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., who leads the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
The bishops joined with more than 35 religious leaders representing a wide variety of communities across the United States, including evangelical, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish and Mormon groups.
In their statement, they said that marriage is a universal and foundational institution that “precedes and transcends” any government, society or religious group. This, they explained, is because it is rooted in the nature of the human person as male and female and the children that are born from their union.
The religious leaders argued that changing the civil definition of marriage changes hundreds or even thousands of laws that are dependent upon marital status, including taxation, housing, property, employment discrimination and benefits, adoption, education and health care.
New laws in these areas will have “grave consequences” for religious individuals and groups who serve in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, adoption agencies, counseling centers and many other facilities, they said.
The leaders warned that religious groups are already being targeted as bigots for adhering to their firmly held religious convictions.
The letter gave examples of “government punishments and pressures” against adoption agencies who object to placing children with homosexual couples, marriage counselors who deny counseling services to same-sex “married” couples and employers who do not wish to extend married health benefits to same-sex “spouses.”
They also pointed to situations in which religious groups across the country have faced other government sanctions, losing service contracts, grants and tax-exempt status because they refused to treat same-sex unions as marriages.
If civil marriage is redefined, the punishments will become “more frequent and more severe,” as the government forces religious people and groups to violate their beliefs by recognizing homosexual conduct “as the moral equivalent of marital sexual conduct.”
The religious leaders urged Americans to recognize that the union of one man and one woman is a fundamental institution that contributes to the “common good” of society.
They urged “all people of good will” to work together in supporting laws that protect both “the unique meaning of marriage and the precious gift of religious freedom.”
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In my conversations with left leaning friends over the past few years, I brought up my fear that state sanctioned same sex partnerships and marriages would necessarily lead to 1st Amendment conflicts. I was assured that all these “rights” could be arranged for same sex couples and it would not impact religious people and faiths in the least. We have seen that not be the case.
This letter needed to happen because without the unified pushback of religious people speaking for from anywhere from 50 to 65% of Americans, we would undoubtedly be steamrolled into being required to not only tolerate but accept and endorse relationships we believe are immoral and unnatural.
@M Colins - explain to me exactly how gay marriage “impacts” you… What 1st amendment conflicts are you referring to? All I hear from you is hate speech.
Bishop William C. Lori of Bridgeport, CT, chair of the Catholic bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, met with President Barack Obama on Nov. 8. Exactly four weeks later, on Dec. 6, Obama released a Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies titled, “Internationall Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons.” The memorandum speaks of ending discrimination against homosexually oriented people abroad, but it also goes way beyond this by directing that U.S.diplomacy and foreign assistance combat the criminalization of LGBT conduct, commonly referred to sodomy. Same-sex marriage, although not mentioned specifically, surely would be included among the “human rights” Obama is seeking for homosexuals. The next time Bishop Lori sees the President, he should be sure to remind him that our religion prohibits same-sex marriage and gay sex activities as set out in the President’s memorandum, as well as their promotion, whether here or abroad.
Your question is not the issue. The 1st amendment guarantees Americans that their practice of religion will not be infringed upon. The authors of this letter correctly fear goverment is attempting to force recognition of relatioships which they teach are improper and/or sinful.
A family consists of a father a mother and children. Without a male and female there are no children. This is how God intended it to be.
athenian_oracle, what is hateful about M Colins’ comment?
One just needs to see the gatherings and vociferations of the deviants to see what hate really is.
Soon, the Bishops and Religious will be enlightened to the fact that the Marxist Democrat Party is deliberately and wantonly pushing homosexuality as a means of undermining American society. These people are at war with America. Just listen to the likes of Michael Moore. They hate this country and the Catholic Church especially. These are Saul Alinskyites. These Marxist just laugh to themselves as the Bishops try to reason with them. They need to be defeated in November.
I just find it so sad that our Church leadership chooses to focus on this, instead of important matters. For example:
Our Congress just overwhelmingly passed, and the President signed, a Defense bill which allows this President (and any in the future) to have the US military jail without trial any US citizen which the President deems to have “terrorist sympathies”.
Which, in the future, could be Catholics demonstrating for basic human rights, or for our religious freedom.
That would seem somehow more important than any spurious threat from same-sex marriage. And we discuss this… not at all.
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