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Catholic Church and same-sex marriage

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Main article: Catholic Church and homosexuality

The Catholic Church has intervened in political discourses to enact legislative and constitutional provisions establishing marriage as the union of a man and a woman, resisting efforts by civil governments to establish either civil unions or same-sex marriage.

Church teaching

Main article: Catholic teaching on homosexuality

On 3 June 2003, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons" opposing same-sex marriage. This document made clear that "legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour... but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity."[1]

Catholic legislators were instructed that supporting such recognition would be "gravely immoral," and that they must do all they could do actively oppose it, bearing in mind that "the approval or legalisation of evil is something far different from the toleration of evil". The document said that allowing children to be adopted by people living in homosexual union would actually mean doing violence to them, and stated: "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law."[1]

In October 2015, bishops attending the Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome agreed on a final document which reiterated that while homosexuals should not be discriminated against unjustly, the Church was clear that same-sex marriage is "not even remotely analogous" to heterosexual marriage. They also argued that local churches should not face pressure to recognise or support legislation that introduces same-sex marriage, nor should international bodies put conditions on financial aid to developing countries to force the introduction of laws that establish same-sex marriage.[2][3]

North America

Canada

In July 2003, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Canada, the country's plurality religion, protested the Chrétien government's plans to include same-sex couples in civil marriage. The church criticisms were accompanied by Vatican claims that Catholic politicians should vote according to their personal beliefs rather than the policy of the government. In late 2004, Frederick Henry, Bishop of Calgary, wrote a pastoral letter saying "Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the State must use its coercive power to proscribe or curtail them in the interests of the common good."[4]

United States

In the United States, the leadership of the Catholic Church has taken an active and financial role in political campaigns across all states regarding same-sex marriage.[5][6] Human Rights Campaign said that the church spent nearly $2 million in 2012 toward unsuccessful campaigns against gay marriage in four states, representing a significant share of the contributions used to fund anti-gay marriage campaigns.[7] A 2012 Pew Research Center poll indicated that Catholics in the United States who generally support gay marriage outnumber those who oppose it at 52 percent to 37 percent.[7]

In 2004, George Hugh Niederauer, as Bishop of Salt Lake City, who opposed same-sex marriage, spoke against a proposal to include a ban against it in the Utah state constitution, saying that prohibition by law was sufficient.[8] But in 2008, as Archbishop of San Francisco, he campaigned in favor of California's Proposition 8, a ballot measure to constitutionally recognize heterosexual marriage as the only valid marriage within California.[9] Campaign finance records show he personally gave at least $6,000 to back the voter-approved ban[10] and was instrumental in raising $1.5 million to put the proposition on the ballot.[11] Subsequently, he called for an amendment to the US Constitution as "the only remedy in law against judicial activism" following the striking down of a number of state same-sex marriage bans by federal judges.[12] In 2012, Catholic bishops in Washington state issued pastoral statements and DVDs articulating the Catholic vision of marriage and urging parishioners to support efforts to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman in Referendum 74.[13]

In 2010, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) clarified the criteria for the funding of community development programs by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. One criterion was exclusion of organizations advancing activities that run counter to Catholic teaching, examples of which included those that support or promote same-sex marriage.[14][15] In 2016, the President of the national bishops' conference denounced US Vice President Joe Biden for officiating at the wedding of a same-sex couple, arguing that Catholic politicians should only do what is expressly in line with Catholic Church teaching.[16]

Thomas Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield, Illinois, said Catholic politicians who have been involved in making gay marriage legal should not present themselves for Holy Communion until they go to confession. He also said that there should be no Communion for people in a same-sex union.[17] Paprocki and Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, have instructed priests not to allow church funerals for those in same-sex marriages or unions to avoid giving the appearance that the Church approved of such unions.[18]

Europe

 
The First same-sex marriage in Spain officially took place in 1901 between Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sanchez Loriga and was held in the Catholic Church of St.Jorge; but without the evident awareness of the priest.

Catholic Church figures have also criticized attempts to legalize same-sex marriage in Europe. Pope John Paul II criticized same-sex marriage when it was introduced in the Netherlands in 2001.[19] In Spain and Portugal, Catholic leaders led the opposition to same-sex marriage, urging their followers to vote against it or to refuse to implement the marriages should they become legal.[20] In May 2010, during an official visit to Portugal four days before the ratification of the law, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed his opposition by describing it as "insidious and dangerous."[21]

In 2010 in Ireland, Sean Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh, unsuccessfully asked Irish Catholics to resist government proposals for same-sex civil partnerships, and the Irish episcopal conference said that they discriminated against people in non-sexual relationships.[22] In April 2013, when the legalization of same-sex marriage was being discussed, the Irish Bishops Conference stated in their submission to a constitutional convention that, if the civil definition of marriage was changed to include same-sex marriage, so that it differed from the church's own definition, they could no longer perform civil functions at weddings.[23][24]

In the predominantly Catholic countries of Italy and Croatia, the Catholic Church has been the main opponent to either the introduction of civil unions or marriage for same-sex-couples.[25] In July 2013, 750,000 petition signatures were collected by the conservative group "In the Name of the Family", strongly supported by Catholic church leaders. This directly led to the 2013 referendum whereby the constitution was amended to state that marriage is only a union between a man and a woman.[26] In February 2016 the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, rejected the Catholic Church's interference in a parliamentary debate to introduce civil unions and adoption rights for same-sex partners. This followed Bagnasco's (Archbishop of Genoa) attempt to get the Italian Senate to carry out a secret ballot in the hope it would make it easier for lawmakers to follow their conscience, rather than the party line.[27] Bagnasco had compared the idea of recognizing same-sex unions directly with state recognition for incest and pedophilia.[28][29]

Likewise in Slovenia, the Archbishop of Ljubljana, Stanislav Zore, publicly gave his support to establish a referendum vote aimed at changing the country's constitution so that marriage would be defined as being between a man and a woman. The referendum was subsequently passed and the earlier legislative vote to legalise same-sex marriage was nullified.[30] In January 2013, Catholic bishops publicly thanked members of parliament in Poland for voting down a bill which would have permitted same-sex civil partnerships.[31] In response to the legalisation of gay marriage in Austria in 2017, the president of the Austrian bishop's conference, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn denounced the move, arguing that marriage is a male-female relationship intended for "producing, nurturing and raising children, thus ensuring the succession of generations."[32]

South America

In response to efforts to introduce same-sex marriage in Uruguay in 2013, Pablo Galimberti, the Bishop of Salto, on behalf of the Uruguayan Bishops Council, said that marriage was "an institution that is already so injured" and that the proposed law would "confuse more than clarify". The proposal nevertheless became law, with strong public support.[33]

Africa

In Cameroon, Victor Tonye Bakot, the Archbishop of Yaounde, reflected a particularly hostile attitude by the Church in Cameroon, with such interventions prompting the national press to allege the existence of a homosexual "mafia" with a witch-hunt against prominent individuals.[34][35] In 2013 and 2016, the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon followed this up by issuing a public statement urging "all believers and people of good will" to oppose gay marriage and the decriminalization of homosexuality.[35][36]

In 2014, the Catholic Bishops Conference in Nigeria welcomed legislation passed by the government to make participation in a same-sex marriage a crime punishable by 14 years imprisonment. It noted the move as a "courageous act" and a "step in the right direction". The Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, argued that the action was "in line with the moral and ethical values of the Nigerian and African cultures", and blessed President Goodluck Jonathan in not bowing to international pressure. The Catholic church also had a strong opposition against lgbt rights in many Christian majority countries like Kenya, Zambia, Angola, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, and the Central African Republic.[37]

Asia

In the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has been increasingly vocal in its opposition to legal recognition of same-sex relationships, coinciding with a legal challenge to the ban on same-sex marriage in the Family Code being raised in the Philippines Supreme Court.[38] In August 2015, Archbishop Socrates Villegas told Filipino Catholics that they "cannot participate in any way or even attend religious or legal ceremonies that celebrate and legitimize homosexual unions".[39]

In Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon, has used pastoral letters on two occasions to criticise proposals to legislate for same-sex marriage, most recently in 2015.[40][41][42] He urged Catholics to consider this when voting in the district council elections. Several pan-democratic parties criticised Tong's remarks.[43][44]

Australia

In 2015, the Archbishop of Hobart, Julian Porteous, with the support of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference distributed a booklet to 12,000 families with children in Catholic schools across Tasmania entitled "Don't Mess With Marriage" - describing relationships between gay couples as "pretended marriage". Porteous was subsequently referred to the Australian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.[45] The complaint was withdrawn without a finding.

Several Australian bishops publicly supported the "no" vote in the referendum on gay marriage.[46][47] In August 2017, Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher argued that religious schools, charities, and hospitals could be coerced to comply with the "new view of marriage" if the majority of Australians opted for a change in legislation, raising fears that teachers would not be free to follow the traditional church teaching on marriage, but instead be forced to teach a more 'politically correct' curriculum.[46] He went on to claim that religious believers would be vulnerable to discrimination suits and could even lose their jobs if same-sex marriage were to be legalised.[48] The Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, also intervened in the referendum debate to say that the state should be allowed to restrict who can marry, such as prohibitions on incest. He said that like love shared between family members, love shared between gay people "is love and it is valuable but it’s not and it can’t be the kind of love that we call marriage."[47]

Civil unions

 
Former Cardinal Archbishop of Milan Carlo Maria Martini said: "I disagree with the positions of those in the Church, that take issue with civil unions ...[but] the homosexual couple, as such, can never be totally equated to a marriage."

There has been some dissent expressed in recent years by senior and notable figures in the Catholic Church on whether support should be given for homosexual civil unions. The insistence of Bishop Jacques Gaillot to preach a message about homosexuality contrary to that of the official church teaching is largely considered to be one of the factors that led to him being removed from his See of Evraux, France, in 1995. While bishop he had blessed a homosexual union in a "service of welcoming", after the couple requested it in view of their imminent death from AIDS. [49]

In his book Credere e conoscere, published shortly before his death, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan, supported civil unions, though stated they could not be considered the equivalent of heterosexual marriages. He also said he understood the need for gay self-affirmation.[50][51] Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota and Archbishop Piero Marini have both expressed support for civil unions.[52][53]

German cardinal Reinhard Marx and Bishop Franz-Josef Bode have both opined that the blessing of same-sex unions would be possible in Catholic churches in Germany.[54][55][56] In Austria the blessing of same sex unions are allowed in at least two churches,[57] both located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz.[58]

In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aachen in Germany, five same-sex unions received a blessing from the local priest in the German town of Mönchengladbach.[59] Additionally, in 2007, one same-sex union received a blessing in the German town of Wetzlar in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg.[60] A blessing of a same-sex union, equivalent to marriage except name, was made by a Catholic Dominican priest in Malta in 2015. He was not publicly censured by his local bishop.[61][62]

Cardinal Rainer Woelki, the Archbishop of Berlin,[63] and the Archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Heße,[citation needed] have both noted the values of fidelity and reliability found in gay relationships. At the 2015 Synod of Bishops in Rome, Cardinal Reinhard Marx urged his fellow bishops that "We must make it clear that we do not only judge people according to their sexual orientation ... If a same-sex couple are faithful, care for one another and intend to stay together for life God won't say 'All that doesn't interest me, I'm only interested in your sexual orientation.'" [64]

Over 260 Catholic theologians, particularly from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, signed in January and February 2011 a memorandum, called Church 2011, which said that the Church's esteem for marriage and celibacy "does not require the exclusion of people who responsibly live out love, faithfulness, and mutual care in same-sex partnerships or in a remarriage after divorce".[65]

Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions in a documentary "Francesco" released in October 2020. The pope said that "homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family [...] They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it." [66]

References

  1. ^ a b "Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons". Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Vatican concludes that there are 'no grounds' for same-sex marriage". Pink News.
  3. ^ "Synod15 - Relazione Finale del Sinodo dei Vescovi al Santo Padre Francesco (24 ottobre 2015)". press.vatican.va.
  4. ^ "Complaints before the Alberta Human Rights Commission concerning Bishop Henry's pastoral letter". religioustolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 3 November 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  5. ^ Liz Jones (6 June 2012). "Seattle Catholics Divided On Repealing Gay Marriage". NPR.
  6. ^ "Prayers Divided Over Gay-Marriage Ban In Minnesota". NPR. 6 June 2012.
  7. ^ a b Gates, Sara (15 November 2012). "Roman Catholic Church Leadership Poured $2 Million Into Fight Against Marriage Equality". Huffington Post.
  8. ^ "A New Archbishop for S.F." in San Francisco Chronicle, 16 December 2005
  9. ^ Kuruvila, Matthai (10 November 2008) "To Pass Measure, Catholics and Mormons Allied." San Francisco Chronicle. (Retrieved 11-10-08.)
  10. ^ Salvatore Cordileone, Gay Marriage Opponent And Prop. 8 Creator, Named Archbishop Of San Francisco, Huffington Post 27 July 2012
  11. ^ Nancy Pelosi urges S.F. archbishop to exit marriage march, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/14/14
  12. ^ O'Loughlin, Michael (12 June 2014). "Catholic Archbishop: Change Constitution to Ban Same-Sex Marriage". The Advocate.
  13. ^ San Francisco Chronicle, 8 October 2012, as cited in Holy Post, "the National Post's Religion Blog"
  14. ^ "US Catholic Church slashes funding for immigrants rights group over gay marriage". 17 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Community Development Criteria, Guidelines and Policies". www.usccb.org.
  16. ^ "US bishops speak out on gay marriage after Biden officiates at same-sex ceremony". www.thetablet.co.uk.
  17. ^ Chapman, Michael W. (24 July 2017). "U.S. Catholic Bishop: Politicians Who Made Gay 'Marriage' Legal Must Not Receive Communion". CNSnews.com. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  18. ^ Salzman, Todd A. "The scandal may be in not holding funerals for gay spouses, theologians say". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Pope criticizes 'purple' legislation on gay marriage (in Dutch)". refdag.nl. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Vatican condemns Spain gay bill". BBC News. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2007
  21. ^ "In Portugal, Pope Calls Gay Marriage An 'Insidious' Threat". Ontopmag.com. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Irish cardinal urges opposition to homosexual civil unions". Catholic News Agency. Armagh, Ireland. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  23. ^ Dearbhail McDonald and Declan Brennan, "Bishops vow to 'boycott' weddings over gay marriage" in Irish Independent, 29 March 2013
  24. ^ "Bishops issue warning over bid to legalise gay marriages". 29 March 2013.
  25. ^ Day, Michael (23 July 2012). "Catholic Church in polygamy attack on civil unions". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Croatia says 'I do' to gay civil unions". Gay Star News. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  27. ^ "Italy's Renzi rejects Church interference in gay civil unions debate". 12 February 2016 – via Reuters.
  28. ^ Pink News Bishop Compares Gay Rights to Incest 2 April 2007
  29. ^ Catholic World News. New Threats Against Italian Archbishop 9 April 2007
  30. ^ "Slovenian Catholic church backs referendum on repeal of gay marriage law". 8 October 2015.
  31. ^ "Polish bishops oppose Catholic group's support of gay rights campaign". 22 September 2016.
  32. ^ "Austrian cardinal criticizes court ruling on same-sex marriage". Cruxnow.com. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Uruguay's senate approves same-sex marriage bill". CNN.com. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  34. ^ Dias, Elizabeth (31 July 2013). "Gays Abroad Have Most to Gain from Pope Francis' Latest Comments". Time Swampland. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  35. ^ a b Eloundou, Jules Charles. "Stigma and Discrimination of LGBT in Cameroon". www.euroforumlgbtchristians.eu.
  36. ^ "Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws". Africareview.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  37. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. ^ "'Same sex marriage'". CBCP News.
  39. ^ "Philippines archbishop orders Catholics not to take any part in gay marriages". 31 August 2015.
  40. ^ Cheng, Kris (6 November 2015). "HK Catholic cardinal urges believers to reject election candidates who advocate for gay rights".
  41. ^ "Hong Kong's LGBT community seeks ban on discrimination".
  42. ^ Johnson, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP-Mark; Thomas, Gareth; Copeman, Julian; D'Agostino, Justin; Geiser, Dominic. "Proposed changes to Hong Kong's discrimination laws leave existing gaps unaddressed - Lexology".
  43. ^ "Catholic bishop of Hong Kong hits out at gay marriage and tells flock to consider the issue before voting".
  44. ^ "Hong Kong Catholic Cardinal: Homosexual Marriage Will Turn Our Society 'Upside Down'". 10 November 2015.
  45. ^ http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/archbishop-promises-solid-teaching-on-sexuality-gender-and-marriage-in-tasmanian-catholic-schools/news-story/9e218d65d5650ac87c4d2a1652defec0
  46. ^ a b http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2017/08/14/gay-marriage-may-lead-to-coercion--archbishop.html
  47. ^ a b "Australian Archbishop compares same-sex marriage to incest". Pink News. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  48. ^ "No cookies". The Australian. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  49. ^ Bishop's gay conference ban, (BBC News, 2 July 2000)
  50. ^ Martini and Marino, Credere e conoscere, 2012;
  51. ^ Terence Weldon, Cardinal Martini, on Gay Partnerships Archived 21 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 29 March 2012, Queering The Church.
  52. ^ National Catholic Reporter, 12 April 2013
  53. ^ The Tablet, 8 June 2013
  54. ^ Bayrischer Rundfunk.de: "Segnung homosexueller Paare ist möglich"
  55. ^ Spiegel.de: Kardinal Marx stellt Segnung homosexueller Paare in Aussicht
  56. ^ NDR.de: Bischof für Segnung von homosexuellen Paaren (German), 10 January 2018
  57. ^ Paul Stütz. "Segen für Verliebte in Oberösterreichs Pfarren". Kirchenzeitung.at. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  58. ^ Queer.de:Zum Valentinstag: Katholische Diözese segnet auch Homo-Paare(german)
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  60. ^ Frankfurter Rundschau:Dakan muß gehen wegen Trauung eines homosexuellen Paares[permanent dead link] (in German)
  61. ^ Shine, Robert (15 April 2015). "Priest Blesses Same-Gender Couple's Engagement in Malta; Archbishop Remains Calm".
  62. ^ "Controversial priest blesses rings at gay couple's engagement ceremony - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt.
  63. ^ "Erzbischof Woelki möchte Homosexuelle 'nicht diskriminieren'". kath.net (in German). 18 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Wenn zwei Homosexuelle Verantwortung füreinander übernehmen, wenn sie dauerhaft und treu miteinander umgehen, muss man das in ähnlicher Weise sehen wie heterosexuelle Beziehungen.
  64. ^ "accessed 7 October 2015".
  65. ^ "Memorandum:Church 2011". Memorandum-freiheit.de. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  66. ^ "Pope Francis, in Shift for Church, Voices Support for Same-Sex Civil Unions".
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