I’m not going to lie, as I write this, I am aggravated.
No, I take that back…I’m angry. I’m angry and insulted.
This evening I read Bishop Tobin’s latest argument against Gay Marriage in the local Roman Catholic Newspaper. You may be surprised to learn however why it is that I am angry. I’m not angry about his beliefs, nor am I angry about the fact that he defends those beliefs. Nationwide surveys have demonstrated that more than half of practicing Roman Catholics, support same sex marriage…if anything I would give him credit for standing up for his understanding of Church teaching in the face of such adversity within his own flock. What does anger me, is what this is really about, and the fact that we continue to dance around it.
The Bishop offers a number of arguments to support his defense of the Roman Catholic position on gay marriage. He offers five in fact, which can be found clearly demonstrated in his article, here.
I am so tired of reading and hearing the same arguments over and over again. I’m tired of responding with the same arguments over and over again. I’m tired of hearing the lame one liner from he and others, like the one in this article where he laments that he is but a martyr in the name of the truth;
“We’ve already seen that if you oppose same-sex marriage, even for personal or religious principles, you’ll quickly be labeled an intolerant bigot.”
Well, the reference to “attempted homosexual marriage” as a “social experiment, the consequences of which may not be realized for years to come” certainly can sound intolerant when taken at face value. Particularly with the argument left as is. What’s the experiment? Gays and Lesbians will get married, and start families. Organizations like N.O.M. (who tag their name to the Roman Catholic Church without debate), would certainly agree that such a thing is horrendous. Their website blatantly says that a family is meant to have; one father, and one mother. What about children that come from a single parent household? More than that, what about children that come from a two parent household…and they had to still raise themselves? What about all those families out there that find at it’s base a mother and a father, and the product is children that are still filled with anger, hate, and other unchristian values? The people that have been the biggest threat to society in history, were the children of heterosexual parents. We would never condemn heterosexual families for raising children that turned out to be wretched, so why would we simply assume that a homosexual couple would be incapable of raising children that could be Saints?
That sounds like an intolerant bigot to me.
The Bishop goes on, as you can see in the article;
“our opposition to this legislative initiative, to same-sex marriage, should not be construed as an attack on or rejection of individuals with same-sex attraction. Homosexual persons are children of God who possess the same human dignity as every other human being. That affirmation, however, doesn’t mean that their sexual activity needs to be accepted and celebrated.”
Why isn’t heterosexual marriage reduced to simply “the acceptance of, and celebration of, their sexual activity?” If it is truly held that the LGBTQ Community are all children of God who possess the same human dignity as every other human being, then this conversation would be about human beings. It would not be about “accepting and celebrating sexual acts.”
The Bishop points out that if the fight for same sex marriage were really about Civil Rights, the LGBTQ Community should be happy with Civil Unions;
“And be very clear about this – same-sex marriage isn’t about procuring civil rights for beleaguered homosexual persons. The recently adopted civil-unions legislation, as ill-advised as it was, it provided the legal protections activists have been lobbying for, but the opportunity has been widely ignored. Same-sex marriage legislation is about distorting a venerable institution – not about civil rights.”
Civil Unions have not been taken advantage of because there is no advantage to getting one! In the State of Rhode Island, even if a couple posses a Civil Union, institutions have the right to ignore that legal status in the name of beliefs and morals. The very existence of Civil Unions gives acknowledgment to same sex relationships. By their very nature they prove that these relationships have worth and value. However, this legislation also blatantly demonstrates that value to be less then marriage. There is no dignity in introducing someone as, “the other half of my civil union.”
I’ll be blunt; to legalize same sex marriage would grant too much human dignity to homosexual persons. In a way, it would make it a matter of law to respect a homosexual person in the same way as a heterosexual person. Such a thing would force the Roman Catholic Church to think outside of the box, a box that has sat comfortably for too many years. The Hierarchy of the Church would find itself without the justification of a social stigma to back its bigotry. Make no mistake about it…they need that backing.
Think about it; what would happen if the world became a place where same sex relationships were deemed “ok” by the legalization of same sex marriage? How would Priests who are gay and living closeted gay lifestyles then feel? How would all the gays who are employed by the Church feel? How would gays in the pews feel? The Church would be forced to face its worst nightmare: acknowledging homosexuals as equals.
Let’s just be honest - that is really what’s at stake here. If this were in fact about protecting marriage, and the sanctity of marriage, the Church would issue a statement every other time Marriage is “marred” in public view. When CNN reports about another celebrity who has further mocked this sacred institution, there would be a statement from the Bishop. If there was an ounce of concern about the “Dignity of the Homosexual Person,” a statement would be made in defense of the 26 percent of young people in this State who “come out”, and as a result get thrown out of their house. If the issue here is really marriage, and the Church truly defends the dignity of the homosexual person, then why can’t a Roman Catholic Priest be openly gay, and “out” so long as he is still true to his Ordination promises? Why isn’t the Roman Catholic Church the loudest opponents to homophobic language in the hallways of high schools?
That’s what makes me mad. It makes me mad that the Hierarchy of the Roman Church justifies its bigotry in the name of “defending marriage”. Well, keep right on “defending”; and in the process drive away souls who thirst for Christ. Drive away young people who will forever have a bad taste in their mouth for the Church who seemingly rejects them. Drive away families who are trying to raise their children with values of honesty, love, and respect…even though the Church would say that family is built on immorality, because they have two parents of the same sex.
Bishop, you are right about one thing indeed; “The general public will continue to be divided over this emotional issue with accusations and angry rhetoric sure to follow. Do we need that again here and now?” The answer is, no we don’t.
However, it is in fact going to continue, because there are two battles going on here;
One battle is in the State House, and it’s over same sex marriage.
The other is between Chanceries and human hearts, and it is rooted in fear.
