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Sunday Quote: Marriage as a foretaste of heaven

Posted Mar. 31, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

Today we share not a Pope Quote, but a beautiful passage about marriage from the Catechism that is very fitting for the joyous celebration of our Lord’s resurrection.

The grace of the sacrament of Matrimony

Christ is the source of this grace. “Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of matrimony.” Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to “be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1642

 

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Friday Fast for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (#8)

Posted Mar. 29, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

This week’s intention and reflection

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Intention: For the strength to stand with Christ and conduct our personal and professional lives according to our religious convictions.

Reflection: In today’s Gospel reading, Christ says, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate replies, “What is truth?”

In today’s culture, it can be difficult to recognize truth. The question, “What is truth?” is used by many to justify various actions or inactions. Christ, however, makes clear that those who belong to truth listen to His voice.

As Archbishop Charles Chaput stated in his homily for the Fortnight for Freedom closing Mass last year, “We need to speak out, not only for religious liberty and the ideals of the nation we love, but … for the truth of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. We need to be witnesses of that truth not only in word, but also in deed.” On this Good Friday, let us ardently pray to Christ our Savior for the courage and strength to express our religious convictions—to be unafraid to
witness to the truth.

Did you know? Our call to witness to the truth continues! In February 2013, the Obama administration issued a “proposed rule” providing revisions to the HHS contraceptive and sterilization mandate. Last week, the USCCB filed public comments stating that the mandate continues to be “an unprecedented … violation of religious liberty by the federal government” and must be changed. Click here to file your own comments, which are due April 8!

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"We love you…and we want you to be happy."

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 17 comments
Archbishop Cordileone at the March for Marriage

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco speaks at a rally as part of the March for Marriage

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, the chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage spoke at a rally yesterday as a part of the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. The march was timed to coincide with U.S. Supreme Court’s oral arguments about California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act .

I want to begin with a word to those who disagree with us on this issue and may be watching us right now: we love you, we are your neighbors, and we want to be your friends, and we want you to be happy.

Please understand that we don’t hate you, and that we are not motivated by animus or bigotry; it is not our intention to offend anyone, and if we have, I apologize; please try to listen to us fairly, and calmly, and try to understand us and our position, as we will try to do the same for you.

And to you, my friends gathered here, I say, thank you for being here, thank for your courageous support of the defining issue of our day. Why, really, are we here? One simple reason: marriage matters to kids. It’s the simple principle that children deserve a mother and a father, and that society needs an institution that connects children to their parents. What could be more beautiful, or even more sacred, than a man and a woman coming together to create new life? Marriage is the only institution that does this, that connects children to their parents and parents to their children and to each other.

Sometimes that isn’t possible, sometimes due to circumstances beyond people’s control the ideal doesn’t happen. Those parents, too, need and deserve our love and support. This isn’t about parenting skills, though; we know that sometimes kids can do well in less-than-ideal circumstances. Rather, it’s about rebuilding a marriage culture, which begins – certainly doesn’t end! – with preserving in the law the principle that children deserve a mother and a father, and that society should do everything it can, and offer all necessary support, to help insure that children get what they deserve. Only a man can be a father and only a woman can be a mother, and children need both, and no matter how happy their childhood may be, to grow up without one or the other is always a deprivation. This is not discrimination; on the contrary, marriage benefits everyone, including those of us who are not married and those who disagree with us.

And finally, to the nine justices on the Supreme Court, I say: please, for the sake of the children, please, preserve the meaning of marriage in the law, a meaning common to every human society since the beginning of the human race. For the sake of the children, please.

-Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco

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USCCB News Release: Archbishop Cordileone Leads Prayer at March for Marriage

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 1 comment

USCCB News Release (March 26, 2013)

  • Prays that the Supreme Court uphold Proposition 8 and DOMA
  • Marriage is rooted in the reality that men and women are different
  • Many support marriage

WASHINGTON—Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, will participate in the March for Marriage in Washington, March 26, by leading the marchers in prayer. Thousands of people from across the country are expected to gather in the nation’s capital to march peacefully to the United States Supreme Court to show their support for marriage.

The march occurs as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on California’s Proposition 8, the first of two marriage cases before it. Tomorrow, March 27, the Court will hear oral arguments on the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“It is truly inspiring to know that so many people from so many walks of life, including many young people, are expressing their support for marriage,” Archbishop Cordileone said about the march.

“It is my hope and prayer that the Supreme Court will uphold Proposition 8 and DOMA, respecting the very nature of the human person and the nature of marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Archbishop Cordileone said.

“Every person has a mother and a father. Marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to children born of their union,” he added. “The intrinsic dignity of every human being must be affirmed, but this is not realized by redefining marriage to mean simply the public recognition of certain emotional bonds among adults. Marriage is rooted in the natural reality that men and women are different, and thereby complementary, and that children deserve both a mother and a father. Respecting this truth benefits everyone.”

California’s Proposition 8 defines marriage in California’s constitution as the union of one man and one woman. In 2008, California voters approved the proposition, with more than 7 million voting in favor. Subsequently, Proposition 8 was found unconstitutional by lower federal courts. DOMA defines marriage for purposes of federal law as the union of one man and one woman. In 1996, DOMA was overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. DOMA has been found unconstitutional by some lower federal courts.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on Proposition 8 and a decision on DOMA by the end of June. If the Court overturns either, the result would be adverse to the institution of marriage and to the family and could effectively result in marriage being redefined throughout the country.

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Q&A with Archbishop Cordileone

Posted Mar. 25, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

Just in time for tomorrow’s March for Marriage, here is an interview with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, on the meaning of marriage and the importance of the upcoming Supreme Court cases.

Notice how the Archbishop often re-frames the questions he’s asked. For example:

Q: What is the greatest threat posed by allowing gays and lesbians to marry?

A: The better question is: What is the great good in protecting the public understanding that to make a marriage you need a husband and wife?

In the interview, Archbishop Cordileone addresses many of the frequently asked questions in the marriage debate: What about infertile couples? Isn’t the Church’s position just like racism? He also fields a few more personal questions, such as how he addresses this issue with friends and family members who have same-sex attraction.

And in regards to the oft-used claim that redefining marriage is “inevitable”, Archbishop Cordileone has this to say:

Q: Has it become more difficult to oppose gay marriage over the years? Does it seem the tide is turning against you?

A:There is a problem here – an injustice, really – in the way that some people are so often identified by what they are against. Opposition to same-sex marriage is a natural consequence of what we are for, i.e., preserving the traditional, natural understanding of marriage in the culture and in the law.

But of course people who are for the redefinition of marriage to include two men or two women are also against something: They are against protecting the social and legal understanding that marriage is the union of a husband and wife who can give children a mother and father.

So there are really two different ideas of marriage being debated in our society right now, and they cannot coexist: Marriage is either a conjugal union of a man and a woman designed to unite husband and wife to each other and to any children who may come from their union, or it is a relationship for the mutual benefit of adults which the state recognizes and to which it grants certain benefits. Whoever is for one, is opposed to the other.

The whole interview is worth reading – find it here!

 

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Sunday Pope Quote: Francis on St. Joseph as Husband and Father

Posted Mar. 24, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

Pope Francis 2

Pope Francis celebrated his inauguration mass on the Feast of St. Joseph (March 19). His whole homily is worth reading, but here is some of what he had to say about St. Joseph as protector of Jesus and Mary:

How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care. As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.

The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents. It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!

I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.

Pope Francis: Homily at the Mass for the inauguration of the Pontificate 19 March 2013 (emphasis added)

Please pray for the pope as he begins his Petrine ministry.

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Friday Fast for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (#7)

Posted Mar. 22, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

This week’s intention and reflection:

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Intention: For all who will march in the March for Marriage on Tuesday, or join spiritually from a distance, that they may witness boldly to the truth of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Reflection: If you need a good reason to attend the March for Marriage, here’s one: When Pope Francis was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he encouraged the Catholic faithful to participate in a march for marriage! The Argentinean legislature was then considering a bill that would redefine mar-riage to include two men or two women. In a letter to Carmelite nuns in Argentina, then-Cardinal Bergoglio said about the marriage debate, “At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God.” (Original Spanish here.)

In closing, the future Pope Francis wrote, “We look to Saint Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus and ask that they fervently defend the family in Argentina at this particular time.” Following our Holy Father’s example, let us entreat the Holy Family to defend marriage and the family in the United States!

Did you know? On Tuesday, March 26, a March for Marriage will take place in our nation’s capital to show citizens’ support for upholding marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Information about the March can be found at the March for Marriage website. Those who cannot participate in person are encouraged to participate spiritually by offering prayers and fasting on March 26.

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Five Reasons to Participate in the March for Marriage

Posted Mar. 19, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 33 comments

nom_marriagemarch_logo

The countdown begins! One week from today – March 26 – is the March for Marriage in Washington DC. Below are five reasons why you should attend. Or, if you can’t make it in person, consider devoting some time to prayer and/or fasting on March 26 for the preservation of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis

1. When Pope Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, he encouraged the Catholic faithful to march for marriage. The year was 2010 and the Argentinean legislature was debating whether or not to redefine marriage. According to Zenit news, then-Cardinal Bergoglio “appealed to parish priests, rectors and chaplains of churches to facilitate the participation of the faithful” in a planned march and demonstration against redefining marriage. The marchers united under the motto “We want a mommy and daddy for our children” and Cardinal Bergoglio encouraged them to keep the tone positive. Read more about Pope Francis’ defense of marriage and family during his time in Buenos Aires.

MUR2-iStock_000008928956Large_jpg

2. Catholic Social Teaching is clear that marriage and the family are essential to the common good. “The family, the natural community in which human social nature is experienced, makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the good of society” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 213). The family, “born of the intimate communion of life and love founded on the marriage between one man and one woman,” is indeed “the first and vital cell of society” (no. 211). The importance of marriage and the family to the common good is why the Church works tirelessly to enact laws that recognize and support marriage’s authentic meaning as the union of one man and one woman. According to the Compendium, society and state institutions are called “to guarantee and foster the genuine identity of family life and to avoid and fight all that alters or wounds it” (no. 252). (From the March 1 Call to Prayer / Friday Fast reflection.)

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

3. There is a great lineup of speakers. Speakers at the rally following the March (see full schedule here) include Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage; Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute; Robert Oscar Lopez, an English professor who has written on the experience of being raised by a mom in a same-sex relationship; Doug Mainwaring, who recently wrote an article about his opposition to marriage redefinition as a man with same-sex attraction; Rev. Bill Owens, Sr., founder and president of the Coalition of African-American Pastors; and more.

Bishop Kevin Rhoades

Bishop Kevin Rhoades

4. The March for Marriage has the support of Catholic bishops. In a February 25 letter sent to all U.S. bishops, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, encouraged participation in the March. The bishops wrote, “The march will be a significant opportunity to promote and defend marriage and the good of our nation, to pray for our Supreme Court justices, and to stand in solidarity with people of good will. … We are deeply grateful for any support you can offer for this march.”

header-religiousliberty

5. We are on the cusp of a momentous Supreme Court decision. On March 26, the day of the March for Marriage, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for one of two cases about marriage law currently under its review, Hollingsworth v. Perry (about California’s Proposition 8; read the USCCB brief here). On March 27, the Court will hear oral arguments for the other case, United States v. Windsor (about the federal Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA; read the USCCB brief here). The Court is expected to rule on both cases by the end of June. As explained in a USCCB press release about these cases, “Depending on the Court’s ruling, there could be ramifications for marriage laws throughout the country.” (Keep in mind that currently 41 states do not recognize marriages between two persons of the same sex.) Highlighting the potential scope and severity of the Court’s ruling, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz compared it to the wide-ranging and hotly-contested 1973 ruling that legalized abortion throughout the country, Roe v. Wade.  As Archbishop Kurtz put it in November 2010, “Today is like 1970 for marriage. If, in 1970, you knew that Roe v. Wade were coming in two or three years, what would you have done differently?”

One possible answer to the Archbishop: attend the March for Marriage! Or prayerfully participate from a distance, recognizing, as the bishops do, the importance of prayer, witness, and sacrifice in renewing a culture of marriage.

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Friday Fast for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (#6)

Posted Mar. 15, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

This week’s intention and reflection:

Intention: For all who help to build a Culture of Life: that even in the midst of trials, the Lord would strengthen their faith and help them know His saving power.

Reflection: We may sometimes find ourselves tempted to feel discouraged when it appears as though evil has defeated good, but today’s readings remind us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and that He is bigger than any challenges we face. He is with us not only in our joys, but also in our pain. Even within our suffering we find the opportunity to grow in an awareness of who we are as His creation: we are His children, utterly and completely dependent on Him, and in this there is great freedom. So let us lay our burdens at the foot of the Cross, recognizing that even when it “appears” as though evil has triumphed, Easter Sunday always follows Good Friday (even if it doesn’t look as we might expect)!

Did you know? Angels are powerful and invisible spiritual beings tasked with doing God’s work; this includes assisting our efforts to spread the truth about the dignity of human life. No matter the time or the place, we can pray to the angels for their help in protecting life and illuminating the minds of those involved in efforts against life. (Read more in this Life Issues Forum article, “Angelic Assistance”).

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Pope Francis: Defender of Marriage and the Family

Posted Mar. 14, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 10 comments
Pope Francis I

Pope Francis

During his years of leadership in Buenos Aires, Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) boldly defended marriage, the natural family, and the right of children to have a father and a mother. His courage and leadership were on display most vividly in the summer of 2010, when the Argentina legislature debated, and ultimately passed, a law that redefined marriage to include two persons of the same sex.

Episcopal Leadership

Knowing that a marriage redefinition bill was on the horizon, in April 2010 the Argentinean Episcopal Conference, of which Cardinal Bergoglio was president (2005-2011), published a statement on marriage: “On the Unalterable Good of Marriage and the Family.” In the statement, the bishops wrote that “the union of people of the same sex lacks the biological and anthropological elements that are proper to marriage and family.”

The bishops also responded to the oft-leveled charge of discrimination, pointing out that “the recognition of a real difference is not discrimination.” Continuing, they wrote, “Nature doesn’t discriminate when it makes us a man or a woman. Our Civil Code does not discriminate when it demands the requirement of being a man and a woman to contract marriage; it only recognizes a natural reality.”

Importance of Prayer

As the debate and vote on the marriage redefinition bill drew closer, Cardinal Bergoglio wrote a letter to Carmelite nuns in Argentina, enlisting their prayers and sacrifices, which he called “the two invincible weapons of Santa Teresa,” a reference to the founder of the Carmelite order, St. Teresa of Avila.

In his letter, Cardinal Bergoglio wrote, “In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family.” He then detailed what was at stake with the bill’s potential passage:

At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.

The Cardinal also highlighted the fact that advocating for the authentic meaning of marriage is not just about politics, but is a struggle between truth and deception, a real spiritual warfare: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

Concluding, Cardinal Bergoglio implored the intercession of the Holy Family: “We look to Saint Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus and ask that they fervently defend the family in Argentina at this particular time.”

Read Cardinal Bergoglio’s letter (in Spanish).

Education and Mobilization of the People

Cardinal Bergoglio did not discount the importance of ongoing education of the Catholic faithful, or the need for a vocal, visible opposition to the marriage redefinition bill. On the Sunday before the legislature’s consideration of the marriage redefinition bill, the Argentine Bishops’ statement on marriage was read at masses in Buenos Aires.

The Cardinal also exhorted the Catholics of Argentina to participate in a march and demonstration in Buenos Aires. He specifically appealed to parish priests, rectors, and chaplains to encourage participation in the march. All Catholic participants were advised by Cardinal Bergoglio to maintain a positive message, carrying only Argentinean flags or positive slogans for man-woman marriage. The slogan for the march was “We Want a Mom and Dad for our Children.”

Opposition to the marriage redefinition bill was strong. Catholic News Agency reported that 200,000 Argentineans gathered to protest the bill. Earlier in the month, around 635,000 people had signed petitions opposing the bill; their signatures were presented to the Argentinean Senate.

Ecumenical Cooperation

Cardinal Bergoglio collaborated with other Christians in Argentina to protest the marriage redefinition bill. Specifically, the pro-marriage march included leadership from not only the Catholic Church but also evangelical and pentecostal groups (see footnote 41 on page 9). Cardinal Bergoglio joined leaders from these Christian communities in writing a letter that was read during the demonstration.

Together, the authors wrote, “Marriage is an essential institution for our society and constitutes the basic structure upon which it is built. It is the fundamental responsibility of our political representatives to protect it and promote it, to legally preserve it as it is, the union between one man and one woman ordered toward mutual help, procreation, the fulfillment and happiness of spouses, the satisfaction of life in its fullness and the raising of children.”

Engaging a Hostile Culture

Unfortunately, Argentina passed the marriage redefinition bill by a vote of 33 to 27 in the Senate. The vote made Argentina the first country in Latin America to redefine marriage to include two persons of the same sex.

Since the passage of marriage redefinition legislature in 2010, Argentina has supported other measures that run contrary to an authentic understanding of the human person, marriage, and the family. In 2011, the Argentinean government distributed millions of copies of a “sexual education” guide produced by the United Nations, which taught readers about different types of families, including those with a father and a mother, those with only a father or a mother, and those with two fathers and mothers. “None of these families are better or worse than the others,” says the guide.

And in 2012, the Argentine legislature passed a bill that permits individuals to legally change their gender at will, regardless of their physiological sex, without enlisting surgery or hormonal treatment, and without the approval of a judge. The bill also included provisions for taxpayer-covered sex reassignment surgeries at public hospitals. According to the bill, gender is defined under the law as “the experience of gender as each person feels it, whether or not it corresponds with the sex assigned at birth.”

Engaging an Anti-Catholic Culture

Argentina has known its share of anti-Catholic persecution too. In a November 2012 New York Times article describing gay pride parades in Argentina, the author writes of the most recent march, “There were brief clashes with some Catholic activists who were protecting the cathedral from vandals; in previous years, the building had been spray-painted with anti-clerical slogans.” He adds, “The event was exhilarating.” [Link withheld because the article includes an inappropriate picture.]

In fact, on March 12, 2013, the day before Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis, the cathedral in Buenos Aires was occupied for four hours by drum-beating protestors who opposed city subsidies for Catholic schools. A mass in honor of the Conclave had to be cancelled.

Pope Francis, then, is no stranger to engaging with a hostile culture and seeking to evangelize in the midst of worldly powers strongly opposed to key tenets of Catholic teaching. Given his demonstrated zeal for the beautiful teachings of the Church on marriage and the family, it will be exciting to see how Pope Francis continues to evangelize on the meaning of human love, sexuality, and marriage. Our prayers are with you, Holy Father!

 

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Archbishop Aquila of Denver Denounces Colorado Civil Unions Bill

Posted Mar. 13, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 25 comments

Yesterday March 12, the Colorado legislature approved a bill that establishes civil unions for two persons of the same sex, a situation we covered earlier here. The bill awaits the signature of Governor John Hickenlooper, who has said that he plans to sign the bill into law.  The Archbishop of Denver, Samuel J. Aquila, released a strong statement about the passage of the civil unions bill.

Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila

The Archbishop writes, “Regrettably, the Colorado Legislature has approved a civil unions bill today which harms families, civil liberties, and the natural rights of all Colorado’s children.”

He makes clear that, as he has said before, the civil unions bill is about redefining marriage and the family:

Senate Bill 11 is the beginning of an effort to redefine the family in Colorado and to undermine the right of all children to have a mother and a father. Civil unions are not about equality, tolerance or fairness. They create an alternate reality in which all institutions can be self-defined. Make no mistake: Civil unions are the first step to redefining marriage and to radically redefining the concept of civil rights.

Indeed, Colorado Senator Pat Steadman, a supporter of the bill, has expressed dissatisfaction with civil unions, calling them “separate, and distinct, and lesser, and unequal.” Implying that civil unions are but a temporary settlement, Steadman said, “We passed this bill because this is the best we can do.” As the Illinois Catholic Conference argued in a 2009 statement, civil union laws are consistently used as a stepping stone to advance full marriage redefinition legislation.

Regarding the argument that civil rights demand civil unions, Archbishop Aquila writes,

Civil rights are about protecting individuals and institutions from tyranny or oppression, not providing legal endorsement to all conceivable social arrangements and constructs. The Church recognizes and affirms the dignity of every human person—but she does not see all relationships as equal. Marriage is a unique social relationship between a man and a woman which exists for the good of children and as the foundation of all human communities. Marriage has been uniquely protected in law for millennia in order to preserve and promote the foundations of all social stability.

The Archbishop also draws attention to the lack of reasonable conscience protections in the new law, particularly for adoption and foster care agencies.

Senate Bill 11 is particularly troubling because the religious liberty of all Coloradans has been discarded under the guise of equality. The ability for religious-based institutions to provide foster care and adoption services for Colorado’s children is now dangerously imperiled.

Indeed, adoption and foster care agencies in several states have shut down because of civil unions or marriage redefinition laws that would force them to place children with two persons of the same sex, a scenario of which Colorado providers of foster care and adoption services were very much aware.

Not only does the approved bill lack conscience protection, but proponents of the bill publicly expressed their disregard for religious persons and institutions, writes Archbishop Aquila.

Faced with the reasonable request for religious liberty and conscience accommodations, state Sen. Pat Steadman offered the following: “So, what to say to those who claim that religion requires them to discriminate? I’ll tell you what I’d say. Get thee to a nunnery and live there then. Go live a monastic life away from modern society, away from the people you can’t see as equal to yourself.” These comments are woefully antagonistic to Catholics, to Christians and to all people of faith and good will.

In the same vein, bill supporter Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, in response to testimony about a Colorado baker who declined to make a cake for two women’s “wedding” ceremony and now faces fine and possible jail time, said, Let them eat cake.”

Archbishop Aquila concludes his statement by saying, “Marriage is a stabilizing institution at the foundation of civil society. Religious liberty is a civil rights issue. Today both have been grievously harmed. Today our state and federal Constitutions have been dealt a troubling blow.”

Read Archbishop Aquila’s entire statement on the Colorado civil unions bill.

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State Update: Colorado (Civil Unions Bill)

Posted Mar. 9, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 2 comments

Colorado is one of a number of states that are currently facing marriage redefinition challenges. More specifically, a bill has been proposed in Colorado (or rather, re-proposed; it failed last year) that would establish civil unions for two persons of the same sex. As of March 6, the bill has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Finance Committee. According to CBS Denver, the bill could be voted on by the full House as early as next week, the last stop before the governor’s desk.

Two key things to know about the Colorado civil unions bill:

1. This bill IS about redefining marriage.

Don’t let the bill’s name fool you, said Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila. In a January 23 column for the Denver Catholic Register, Archbishop Aquila wrote, “Make no mistake, the Colorado Civil Unions Act, and all civil union legislation, is an attempt to redefine marriage – to undercut the long-standing human understanding that the stable, fruitful partnerships between men and women should be promoted and protected.”

The Archbishop points out that “in every state where civil union legislation has passed, its proponents have pushed to redefine marriage itself.” One example is Illinois, which approved civil unions in 2011 and is now debating full marriage redefinition.

Archbishop Aquila also pointed out that “in Colorado, same-sex couples can already attain the legal benefits civil unions would bring. The real goal of civil union legislation is social endorsement of same-sex unions, and, soon enough, the redefinition of marriage.” An example of this is Rhode Island, where civil unions were approved in 2011 but met with little enthusiasm, even though the bill granted the same benefits to those who entered civil unions as to married couples. The Rhode Island legislature subsequently proposed full marriage redefinition, which was passed by the House in January 2013 and has yet to be voted on by the Senate.

2. The bill lacks conscience protections

Unlike the civil unions bill proposed – and defeated by one vote – in 2012, the current bill does not include any protections for one group poised to incur serious consequences from its passage: adoption agencies. Language included in the 2012 bill – that the bill “shall not be interpreted to require a child-placement agency to place a child for adoption” with a couple in a civil union – is entirely absent from the 2013 version. Mark Rohlena, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said that the bill’s passage could threaten the religious liberty of agencies like his that decline to place children with two persons of the same sex.

Indeed, that prediction is far from unfounded. In several states where civil union or marriage redefinition legislation has been passed – DC, Massachusetts, Illinois – religious adoption agencies that wouldn’t place children with two persons of the same sex have closed down. (See this video for an up-close look at the impact on families and children of foster and adoption agencies’ closing in Illinois.)

The Colorado Catholic Conference opposes the civil unions bill and asks all Colorado citizens to make their opposition known.

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Friday Fast for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (#5)

Posted Mar. 8, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 2 comments

This week’s intention and reflection:

Intention: For all people of faith who fight to preserve religious freedom, that the Lord will strengthen their resolve to hold firm in their witness.

Reflection: Religious freedom is a fundamental right not only for Catholics and Christians but for all human persons.  In the U.S., freedom of religion is an inalienable constitutional right that protects citizens and institutions from government interference with the exercise of their religious beliefs.  However, freedom of religion does not arise solely or originally from the U.S. Constitution.  Rather, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council declared in Dignitatis Humanae (the Declaration on Religious Freedom), “the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person” (DH, 2).

Because men and women are created with reason and free will, they “are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His Church, and to embrace the truth they come to know, and to hold fast to it” (DH, 1).  Thus, the U.S. Constitution simply secures the right that inherently belongs to each person by virtue of his or her personhood.  The fact that religious freedom is rooted in the dignity of the human person reminds us that we are praying and fasting not for an abstract concept called religious freedom, but for the full dignity of all men and women, created to seek the truth and hold fast to it.

Did you know? A bill titled the “Health Care Conscience Rights Act” was just introduced in the House earlier this week by Rep. Diane Black.  The bill would protect Americans’ First Amendment rights by providing a full exemption for all those whose religious beliefs run counter to the HHS mandate.  The bill would also protect institutions and individuals from forced participation in abortion.  Click here to take action to support H.R. 940!

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Sunday Pope Quote: Sede Vacante

Posted Mar. 3, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

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At 8:00 p.m. Italian time on Thursday, February 18, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his pontificate and the Church entered a time of “Sede Vacante,” the time in between the end of one pontificate and the election of a new pope. For helpful materials on the Sede Vacante, please see this USCCB resource page.

Thank you, Pope Benedict, for your leadership of the Church during your eight years as pope! In a particular way, thank you for your consistent and courageous teaching on the meaning of marriage. You have given the Church a wealth of insight on what marriage is and why it matters to the world.

Please visit the Church Teaching page and click on Pope Benedict XVI to see a selection of the many, many addresses, speeches, and exhortations on marriage by our now-Pope Emeritus, such as:

“God created us male and female, equal in dignity, but also with respective and complementary characteristics, so that the two might be a gift for each other, might value each other and might bring into being a community of love and life.” – Homily at the closing mass of the 7th World Meeting of Families in Milan (June 3, 2012)

“Dear friends, all human love is a sign of the eternal Love that created us and whose grace sanctifies the decision made by a man and a woman to give each other reciprocal life in marriage. Live the period of your engagement in the trusting expectation of this gift.” – Address to engaged couples (Sept. 11, 2011)

“Marriage has a truth of its own – that is, the human knowledge, illumined by the Word of God, of the sexually different reality of the man and of the woman with their profound needs for complementarity, definitive self-giving and exclusivity – to whose discovery and deepening reason and faith harmoniously contribute.” – Address to Members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota (Jan. 27, 2007)

 We will continue to share Pope Benedict’s wisdom about marriage, the human person, and the family here on Marriage: Unique for a Reason. Thank you, Holy Father Emeritus.

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March for Marriage: March 26, 2013

Posted Mar. 1, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason 4 comments

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As you probably already know, the Supreme Court is preparing to consider two marriage-related cases this spring: United States v. Windsor, about the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Hollingsworth v. Perry, about California’s Proposition 8. As the USCCB news release about these cases pointed out, “Depending on the Court’s ruling, there could be ramifications for marriage laws throughout the country.”

To raise awareness of these monumental cases, and to show support for upholding the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the National Organization for Marriage, along with other partner organizations, is organizing a March for Marriage. The March will be held in Washington, DC, on March 26, 2013, the day oral arguments begin in the Supreme Court. Tentative information about the day’s schedule can be found at the March for Marriage website.

Catholic bishops have voiced their support for the March for Marriage. In a letter sent to all U.S. bishops on February 25, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, encouraged participation in the march. They write in the letter, “The march will be a significant opportunity to promote and defend marriage and the good of our nation, to pray for our Supreme Court justices, and to stand in solidarity with people of good will.” Archbishop Cordileone will also be one of the speakers at the rally after the march.

Sign up for updates about the March for Marriage on its website: http://www.marriagemarch.org.

 

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Friday Fast for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (#4)

Posted Mar. 1, 2013 by Marriage Unique for a Reason No comments yet

This week’s intention and reflection:

Intention: For the justices of the Supreme Court, that when they consider two marriage-related cases later this month, they would uphold the authentic meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, a good in itself and for all of society.

Reflection: Catholic Social Teaching is clear that marriage and the family are essential to the common good: “The family, the natural community in which human social nature is experienced, makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the good of society” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 213). The family, “born of the intimate communion of life and love founded on the marriage between one man and one woman,” is indeed “the first and vital cell of society” (no. 211).

The importance of marriage and the family to the common good is why the Church works tirelessly to enact laws that recognize and support marriage’s authentic meaning as the union of one man and one woman. According to the Compendium, society and state institutions are called “to guarantee and foster the genuine identity of family life and to avoid and fight all that alters or wounds it” (no. 252).

Did you know? Beginning this month, the Supreme Court will consider two marriage-related cases: United States v. Windsor, about the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and Hollingsworth v. Perry, about California’s Proposition 8. Depending on how the Court rules, there could be ramifications for marriage laws throughout the country. Oral arguments for the cases begin March 26, the same day as a March for Marriage to show support for upholding the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. A ruling on both cases is expected from the court by June.

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