Olympia, Wash., Jan 17, 2012 / 04:03 am
Proposed gay “marriage” legislation in Washington state would add to “the forces already undermining family life today,” the state’s Catholic bishops warned.
In a January 2012 statement, the bishops stressed that the “stability of society depends on the stability of family life in which a man and a woman conceive and nurture new life.”
They noted in their letter titled “Marriage and the Common Good” that the civil recognition of marriage as between one man and one woman has given “countless generations of children the incomparable benefit of a loving mother and father committed to one another in a lifelong union.”
On Jan. 13, 23 senators, including two Republicans, introduced legislation that would grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Catholic Democrat, had requested the bill which will require 25 votes to pass the state Senate.