Deo Volente

For us in the Catholic Church, same-sex marriage is an oxymoron since “same-sex” and “marriage” are incompatible.  The Church has declared: “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1601).  We understand that there are two aspects to marriage: unitive and procreative.  Even without one of those aspects, there is not marriage.  Since it is physically impossible for same-sex couples to be procreative, in addition to the fact that same-sex couples are obviously not man and woman, they cannot be married.  Also, according to the CCC, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’  They are contrary to the natural law.  They close the sexual act to the gift of life.  They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.  Under no circumstances can they be approved” (2357).  So, whether or not a same-sex couple wants to get married, it is intrinsically evil and an offense against chastity to even be a couple.

In light of the recent support of same-sex marriage voiced by President Obama, Archbishop Robert Carlson has released the following statement:

“The Archdiocese of St. Louis is profoundly disappointed that President Barack Obama has given his support to same-sex marriage.  The bodies of men and women are made for each other.  The union of the two has the potential to produce life – this is a sign of God’s plan for marriage.  The Catholic Church believes that marriage is a Sacrament, a sacred union between one man and one woman who imitate the way Christ offers His body completely to the Church so that we might have life.” ~May 10, 2012

Additional remarks were made by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB):

“President Obama’s comments today in support of the redefinition of marriage are deeply saddening. As I stated in my public letter to the President on September 20, 2011, the Catholic Bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by the President and the Administration to strengthen marriage and the family. However, we cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better. Unfortunately, President Obama’s words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his Administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage. I pray for the President every day, and will continue to pray that he and his Administration act justly to uphold and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. May we all work to promote and protect marriage and by so doing serve the true good of all persons.” ~May 9, 2012

In other news, it is good to hear that North Carolina voters passed Amendment 1, which defines marriage as a legal union solely between a man and a woman.  Unfortunately though, many people are extremely opposed to this amendment passing:
Backlash over North Carolina’s marriage vote on Yahoo! News

While never forgetting that “a man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family” (CCC 2202), please continue to pray for an increase in fruitful marriages and a growth in families.