I am a practicing Catholic. Same sex marriage will never be exactly welcomed by the Catholic Church. Can a Catholic hold the religious view that the Sacrament of marriage is what the Church says it is while supporting marriage equality?
Why is same sex marriage legal? And what should I do about it?
Starting With The Church
The Catholic Church reacted to the same sex marriage legalization decision of the SCOTUS yesterday. The link from Facebook.
A comment on this post is really lovely: It says
“The church has the right to refuse to wed these couples, but it cannot refuse to the fact that God still loves all of its sons.”
That’s because, according to Scripture and Tradition, God’s love is independent of anything that we do.
The Church has stated something fairly obvious: the Sacrament of Marriage has not changed. The key word there, I think, is “Sacrament.” In the Catholic tradition, a Sacrament is “an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.”
Nothing has developed that would change that, so for a man and a woman in the Catholic tradition, that has not changed. Therefore, a marriage ? any marriage ? outside the context of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is not a Sacrament, i.e., not instituted by Christ and not recognized by the Catholic Church.
That would seem to apply to any marriage, and why would a religious tradition be made to recognize a marriage outside of that tradition?
They never have before, so why complain now?
The Rest Of The Story
I think I see the problem. For those who view marriage as a contract by the state, the SCOTUS ruling makes perfect sense. But for those who view marriage as a Sacrament, the SCOTUS ruling is heinous.
BUT THE SCOTUS RULING DOESN’T APPLY TO THE SACRAMENT. If one?subscribes to the view that the Sacrament?of Marriage is a means of grace, then nothing in this ruling applies.
If, on the other hand, you are of the crowd that likes to muddle Church and state ideals, then of course the SCOTUS ruling is going to bug you. And it should, for ?Those who say, ?I love God,? and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.? (I John 4:20 ? no joke.)
And what could it possibly mean to hate someone? Could it mean that we deny people basic rights to see their loved ones? Could it mean that we try and force a religious institution’s ideals onto those who are not religious, even though Jesus arguably advocated for the separation of Church and state?
Furthermore, for a man and a man or a woman and a woman, God is indeed present in their relationship. Scripture says that ?if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us? (I John 4:12).
So Why Is Same Sex Marriage Legal again? And What Do I Do?
Simply this: the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that ?Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard [gay and lesbian men and women] should be avoided.?
I can think of little else more fundamental than the right to live and die with family.
Pardon me while I celebrate with my family.
