Gay Marriage and the Catholic Church
The President of the Puerto Rican Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan, reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to a move that would make homosexual unions equal to marriage. The archbishop warned that such a move in Puerto Rico would obscure “the fundamental values that belong to the common and original patrimony of the human family.” However the archbishop never explains how giving legal status to two adults who want to live in monogamous relation can harm society.
The Archbishop than goes on to say some statutes of the Civil Code would do irreversible damage to the dignity of the human person and would constitute an attack upon the integrity of the Puerto Rican family.” Again he never explains how recognizing two loving adults whether heterosexual or homosexual, would constitute an attack on the Puerto Rican family.
Fr. Donald Cozzens has termed “the last feudal system” in existence, a hierarchical church that responds to crises in ways consistent with monarchy. A monarchy dictates, and perhaps that is why officials of the Church are losing this debate. They just don’t understand you have to convence people with facts, and not scare them with proclamations of doom and gloom.
Even Italy, the country in which the city state of Vatican resides, is about legalize registries to give the same benefits as a married couples to same sex couples. How does this attack marriage? How does allowing any person the right visit their loved one in a hospital attack the family, or for that matter how does granting the same inheritance rights as married couples attack marriage? The Pope and Bishops cannot answer that simple question, so they resort to the sky is falling mentality, in the hope they can scare people into agreeing with them. Gladly that is not happening.
