TWO VIEWS
— The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit author
“Those who are controlling the synod have betrayed Catholic parents worldwide.”
— John Smeaton, co-founder of the conservative group Voice of the Family, in the Chicago Tribune
ALASKA READIES FOR GAY MARRIAGES
Gay couples began applying for marriage licenses in Anchorage on Monday, 15 years after Alaska helped touch off a national debate with a ban on same-sex unions. Ann Marie Garber and her partner, Koy Field, were among the first gay couples seeking a license to wed in Alaska. They decided to apply immediately after the ban was overturned by a federal judge Sunday. “This is historical,” Garber said. “It’s exciting.” U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess ruled that ban violated both due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. His ruling came over the objection of gay marriage opponents, including Alaska Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, who has promised to appeal, saying states should decide the issue, not courts.
— Associated Press
Catholic bishops signaled a radical shift in tone Monday about accepting gays into the church, saying they had gifts to offer and that their partnerships, while morally problematic, provided homosexual couples with “precious” support.
In a preliminary report halfway through a Vatican meeting on family life, the bishops also said the church must recognize the “positive” aspects of civil weddings and even cohabitation by opposite-sex Catholics, with the aim of bringing them to a lifelong commitment in a church wedding.
While it does not change church doctrine, the tone of the report on a host of hot-button family issues such as marriage, divorce, homosexuality and birth control was one of almost-revolutionary acceptance and understanding rather than condemnation. It will guide a closed-door debate until a final document is issued Saturday.
Gay rights groups hailed what they called a “seismic shift” in the church’s attitude toward gays.
“For the LGBT Catholics in the United States and around the world, this new document is a light in the darkness — a dramatic new tone from a church hierarchy that has long denied the very existence of committed and loving gay and lesbian partnerships,” said Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, the biggest LGBT rights organization in the U.S.
Some conservative cardinals downplayed the report as insignificant or derided it as unacceptable, while conservative groups denounced it as heresy and a “betrayal” that will only serve to confuse Catholics.
“Confused, contradictory chaos in Rome,” headlined the arch-conservative commentator Michael Voris.
Bishops clearly took into account the views of the pope, whose “Who am I to judge?” comment about gays signaled a new tone of welcome for the church. Their report also reflected the views of ordinary Catholics who, in responses to Vatican questionnaires in the run-up to the synod, rejected church teaching on birth control and homosexuality as outdated and irrelevant.
In a sign of the chasm that is apparently underway, Francis decided late Friday to add six progressives from four continents to the synod leadership to help prepare the final document after several conservatives were elected to leadership positions. None of Francis’ appointees were Africans, who are traditionally among the most conservative on family issues.
“The drama continues,” a wry Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, said of the debate.
The bishops said gays had “gifts and qualities” to offer and asked rhetorically if the church was ready to provide them a welcoming place, “accepting and valuing their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony.”
For a 2,000-year-old institution that teaches that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered,” even posing the question was significant.
“This is a stunning change in the way the Catholic church speaks of gay people,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit author. “The Synod is clearly listening to the complex, real-life experiences of Catholics around the world, and seeking to address them with mercy, as Jesus did.”
The bishops repeated that gay marriage was off the table. But they acknowledged that gay partnerships had merit.
“Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions, it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners,” they said.
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic gay rights group, said that though the report repeats doctrine about gay marriage, “the move toward accepting and valuing the gifts of gay and lesbian people is a major step forward.”
Conservative groups rejected the report as a “betrayal” and even heresy.
“What will Catholic parents now have to tell their children about contraception, cohabiting with partners or living homosexual lifestyles?” asked Maria Madise, coordinator of the Voice of the Family, which says it is representing several pro-life and conservative groups. “Will those parents now have to tell their children that the Vatican teaches that there are positive and constructive aspects to these mortal sins? This approach destroys grace in souls.”
The bishops also called for a re-reading of the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae that outlined the church’s opposition to artificial birth control. The bishops said couples should be unconditionally open to having children, but that the message of Humanae Vitae “underlines the need to respect the dignity of the person in the moral evaluation of the methods of birth control.”
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