Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., recently said this about the homosexual lobby’s bid to redefine marriage:

“We don’t see it as a civil rights issue, because there’s never a right to do something that’s morally wrong.”

Bishop’s Tobin’s calm voice of reason on marriage has helped guide Rhode Island clear from following the lead of its New England neighbors, in terms of redefining marriage legally to include same-sex relationships.

It should be remembered that in the context of the nation as a whole, Rhode Island isn’t an anomaly at all. The anomaly is the willingness of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to take steps to legalize same-sex “marriage.”

Other American states, almost without exception, have rejected redefining marriage when their voters have been given the opportunity to make their opinion known through ballot initiatives.

But back to Rhode Island. The drive for homosexual marriage there has stalled, which is out of step with the current political context in the rest of New England. And, as this Associated Press article points out, the Church has played a central role in this positive outcome.

So have the some of the state’s leading Catholic politicians, particularly House Speaker William Murphy and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed, who are both Democrats, and Republican Gov. Don Carcieri.

Which goes to show just how effective Catholic bishops and Catholic public servants can be when they’re working together to promote the common good.