Washington D.C., Nov 12, 2003 / 22:00 pm
It is not unjust to deny legal status to same-sex unions because marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities, said the U.S. bishops in their first public statement on same-sex marriage.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the document, called “Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions”, at their semi-annual meeting yesterday in response to the growing movement in the U.S. in favor of making same-sex unions legally equivalent to marriage.
“To uphold God's intent for marriage … is not to offend the dignity of homosexual persons,” reads the bishops’ statement. “Christians must give witness to the whole moral truth, and oppose as immoral both homosexual acts and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons.”
The statement, based on reason and faith, argues that marriage is instituted by God and cannot be separated from procreation and parenting. Marriage is both a natural institution and a sacred union because it is rooted in the divine plan for creation, said the bishops, making reference to the book of Genesis.