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 Washington, DC-- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a document yesterday condemning same-sex relationships and defining marriage as "between a man and a woman". The document, Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers about Marriage and Same-Sex Unions, will be published as a pamphlet and circulated among Catholic parishes and parishioners.
Soulforce, a national interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people, denounced the document as confusing, harmful, and spiritually violent. For the past four years, Soulforce has been seeking to dialogue with the Bishops, conducting vigils outside of their annual meetings. The new Catholic document inherently supports Republican political strategists now seeking to divide the nation over the issue of civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. GOP officials, encouraged by dogmatic members of the clergy, are proposing a Federal Marriage Amendment, which seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution by defining marriage as between a man and a woman, thereby codifying discrimination. Although the Catholic document does not mention the Federal Marriage Amendment, Soulforce believes it is meant to urge Catholics to support it. "The Catholic Church has always been free to decide which marriages it will or will not recognize," said Kara Speltz, grandmother, lifelong Catholic, and Soulforce Catholic Denominational Team leader. "However, it is painful and morally wrong that the bishops of my church have set aside their role as shepherds to try to influence parishioners and the government to discriminate against me and my family." The document states that Christians should "oppose as immoral both homosexual acts and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons," then goes on to say that "the state has the obligation to promote family," and that it would be "wrong to redefine marriage for the sake of providing benefits to those who cannot rightfully claim marriage." Additionally, the Catholic document does not address the difference between the 1000+ rights granted though civil marriage vs. the religious ritual of marriage, nor does it cite specific examples of how granting civil marriage rights to couples of the same gender will harm the institution of marriage. "This document is not only discriminatory, harmful, and confusing, it is a thinly veiled attempt to influence Catholics to support the proposed anti-family Federal Marriage Amendment by inserting their politics into a religious document," declared Laura Montgomery Rutt, spokesperson for Soulforce. "Although the Catholic Church is free to discriminate against whoever they choose," Montgomery Rutt continued, "the U.S. government has a higher obligation to Americans to insure equal rights and protections to all individual, couples, and families - to do less is not only discriminatory, it is anti-family and un-American." "How dare the Catholic Church attempt to install its anti-gay teachings into the U.S. Constitution that would make 2nd class citizens of millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals," said Rev. Mel White, co-founder and executive director of Soulforce. "When will the Catholic Church learn that this kind of spiritual violence leads to great pain, suffering and even death for GLBT people." |