Church against same sex marriage
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Roman Catholic Church
BACKGROUND
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately billion members across the globe. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership––in the person of the Pope––to St. Peter, identified by Jesus as “the rock” on which the Church would be built.
The Catholic Church in the United States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop. Those Provinces are further divided into dioceses, each led by a bishop. At the base of the organizational structure are local parishes, headed by a pastor, appointed by the local bishop. The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States meets semi-annually.
As part of a global organization with its institutional center at the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America is shaped by worldwide societal and cultural trends. It is further shaped by leadership that is entirely male, with w
INTRODUCTION
1. In recent years, various questions relating to homosexuality hold been addressed with some frequency by Pope John Paul II and by the relevant Dicasteries of the Holy See.(1) Homosexuality is a troubling moral and social phenomenon, even in those countries where it does not show significant legal issues. It gives climb to greater concern in those countries that have granted or intend to grant &#x; legal recognition to homosexual unions, which may include the possibility of adopting children. The present Considerations do not contain new doctrinal elements; they seek rather to reiterate the essential points on this question and provide arguments drawn from reason which could be used by Bishops in preparing more specific interventions, appropriate to the different situations throughout the world, aimed at protecting and promoting the dignity of marriage, the foundation of the family, and the stability of society, of which this institution is a constitutive element. The present Considerations are also intended to give direction to Catholic politicians by indicatin
Why Not Same-Sex &#;Marriage&#;?
Divine revelation affirms what we can discern by reason from the natural moral law. God made us in his image and likeness, male and female (Gen. ). And those whom God calls to marriage become one flesh for life (Gen. ), and God normally blesses them with children and draws them closer to each other in him, enabling those who can’t conceive to become good adoptive parents. Jesus reaffirms that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that it is a lifetime commitment (Matt. ). Mention that Jesus relaxed the Jewish disciplines regarding unclean foods (Mark ) yet never relaxed the Jewish teachings against same-sex relations, let alone redefined marriage. Those morally impermissible practices were simply never on the table.
Homosexual relations have no hope of making the two participants one, let alone being a renewal of covenant verb in an ongoing way (see Gen. ). These acts are incapable for one to verb a conjugal self-gift of himself or herself.
In comparison, when a wife becomes infertile because of age—or either spouse is infertile for reasons be
Why This Issue Matters
I’m a pastor. My concern is with the church—what she believes, what she celebrates, and what she proclaims. Achieving some legal and political end is not my primary calling and yet, I’m concerned that many younger Christians—ironically, often those most attuned to societal transformation and social justice—do not spot the connection between a traditional view of marriage and human flourishing. Many Christians are keen to resurrect the old pro-choice mantra touted by some Catholic politicians: personally opposed, but publicly none of my business. I wish Christians to spot why this issue matters and why—when same-sex marriage became the law of the land—the integrity of the family was weakened and the freedom of the church was threatened.
I know this is an increasingly unpopular line of reasoning, even for those who are inclined to acknowledge the Bible’s teaching about marriage. Perhaps you believe that homosexual behavior is biblically unacceptable. And yet, you wonder what’s wrong with supporting same-sex marriage as a legal and political right. After all, we don