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The Catholic bishop's draft pastoral on marriage
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America Magazine reports that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have published a draft pastoral on marriage, including opposition the gay marriage. You can read the pastoral at http://ncrnews.org/documents/marriage_divine_plan.pdf. You can comment on America Magazine's blog at http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=22215679-3048-741E-8316742757114969.
National Catholic Review has an editorial on the letter at http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/marriage-bishops-should-start-over
Here are my comments on this, which reflect what I have said here previously:
Even with six Catholics on the Court, the Bishops's letter won't have an effect on the legality of gay marriage, which is based on equal protection doctrines and a growing body of law that expands individual rights. They are badly advised, as is the Vatican, on the biological and legal facts of this issue. Their scriptural knowledge on this is not so good either. The final nail in the coffin of the current view on homosexuality is the pastoral need to celebrate gay marriages for individuals (and more importantly, their families) who are married in civil ceremonies.
When I was in High School marriage class and in marriage preparation, we were told that the Church does not perform the marriage, the couple does with the Priest providing witness. While the Church can certainly have an opinion stating that gay and lesbian marriages do not have the same Charism, such a belief defies both logic and experience. In reality, the coming pastoral is nothing more than an episcopal temper tantrum. They can kick and scream all they want, but it won't change reality.
