Once again, Catholic lawmakers have been prominent in victories for equal marriage, notably in Rhode Island - often described as the “most Catholic” state in the US. In the previous, failed attempt to get legislation through the legislature, this was widely attributed to the strong pressure on Catholic legislators by the local bishop, who personally telephoned several of them. This time, it was different. The Catholic Church remains strongly opposed:
Opposition to same-sex marriage in the state has been led by the Roman Catholic Church. In a statement on Monday, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Diocese of Providence warned legislators of a “grave risk” to society and urged them “to stand strong” and “defend marriage and family as traditionally defined.”
-NY Times
but Catholics have resisted dictates from above, to follow a more important impulse - the dictates of conscience.
For example,
Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, D-Providence, said she lost sleep over her vote but decided, despite opposition from the Catholic Church, to vote ‘‘on the side of love.’’
‘‘I’m a practicing Catholic. I’m proud to be a Catholic,’’ she said, adding that it was the personal stories of gays, lesbians and their families in her district who convinced her. ‘‘I struggled with this for days, for weeks. It’s certainly not an easy vote.’’
State Senator Sen. William J. Conley wrote in an open letter to his constituents,
“The Catholic understanding of conscience includes the process of discernment by which we strive to act in accordance with the truth and the common good of humanity.”
“For me, this process of discernment, asking the hard questions, and searching for the truth kept bringing me back to the Great Commandment which tells us to love God and love our neighbor, and the Golden Rule, to treat others the way we would have them treat us.
Providence Journal
Quite apart from the obvious and direct value that equal marriage brings to same - sex couples, and indirectly to the queer community at large, there is a further value to the whole of society in the debates that accompany the political campaigns.The people involved in these debates are being forced to engage in a deeper level of the discernment that Conley refers to, going beyond the simplistic assumptions about marriage that characterised the early disputes. Once we get beyond the early assumptions that Christians are valiantly defending the institution of marriage from secular libertarians who see it only as a matter of rights and personal satisfaction, we can see that Catholics and other Christians themselves see marriage in different ways. The rational debate on the real meaning and value of marriage that is now emerging will not undermine the institution, as equality opponents assert, but will ultimately strengthen it.
Meanwhile, across the country, another Catholic was notable in the Nevada Senate debate approving gay marriage, not simply for supporting the bill, but for coming out publicly as gay, himself. That debate also illustrated that it is not only Catholic lawmakers coming out for equality. Two Mormon senators declared their personal support for traditional LDS belief on marriage - but agreed that state legislation should not be restricted by those beliefs, and so supported the legislation.
I’ve not yet seen any references to Catholic participation in the Delaware House vote in favour of equality this week, but I’m certain that there will have been some. Minnesota has not yet introduced an equal marriage bill, but is widely expected to do so later this year - again, with Catholic supporters prominent. Catholic politicians, lobbyists and lawyers have been instrumental in so many of the victories for equal marriage, in the US and internationally, over the last ten years. Many more will follow.
Related articles
- Marriage Equality and Catholic Latin America. (news.queerchurch.com)
- 82 former Catholic priests support same-sex marriage in Minn. (news.queerchurch.com)
- Poll: Support for same-sex marriage among US Catholics rises to 54% (news.queerchurch.com)
- Poll After Poll Finds Solid (and Increasing) Majority of U.S. Catholics Support Marriage Equality (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)
- Cardinal Wuerl: Married Gay Catholics “Not a Great Problem” (queeringthechurch.com)
- “It’ll Be Legal August 1st” (thewildreed.blogspot.com)
