As I was preparing a write-up on the US Bishop’s plan to issue a document in defense of marriage, many people asked me if this was even needed.  With Health Care, the housing crisis, the economic downturn, and the situation in the Middle East, is there really a need to start shadowboxing over every issue?

As it turns out, the Bishop’s document on marriage just may arrive on the scene at the right time as the Obama’s Administration theme - ‘Never waste a good crisis’ – continues to produce attacks on some very fundamental levels of society.

Last week, CNSNews.com reported on an event co-sponsered by none other than the NEA called “Getting Sex Education Right in America.”  One of the main discussion points during the event was the unfortunate fact that for too long now our schools in America have pushed a “heterosexual marriage agenda” where kids are programmed to think  that monogomous, heterosexual marriages are the way in which humans can grow up happy and healthy.  This, they say, is “obnoxious and harmful” programming  that has discriminated against homosexuals and other teens who want to live alternative lifestyles.

Now, we have been hearing this sort of drivel from the NEA for years, but the problem gets a little more complicated when the president hand-picks a person to be the Safe Schools Czar who happens to have the exact same beliefs.  If you haven’t heard about him already, then let me introduce you to Kevin Jennings - the person Obama thinks is best suited to keep our school children safe…

 
Yes, you heard that correctly.  Obama’s Safe School Czar, the man hand-picked to ensure that we have safe schools in America, believes that our curriculum is designed to trick people into being heterosexual.  When you couple this with the NEA’s belief that monogamy and marriage promotion is “obnoxious and harmful” then the stage is definitely set for a battle over morality in schools.

Unfortunately, that is not the only assault on marriage.  In a little under two weeks, Maine will be the latest state to take up the marriage issue on a ballot that could prevent same-sex marriages.  It shouldn’t surprise anyone that same-sex marriage advocates see the Catholic Church as the biggest obstacle to their movement.  This is confirmed by the fact that they have decided to subtly play the Catholic card in their ads against traditional marriage.  Here is the latest example…

Notice the subtle mention of her being a lifelong Catholic just prior to her public support of something that is about as contrary to Sacramental Theology as you can get.  Given all of the above, we are obviously in for battle over marriage in this country.

Enter the US Bishops…

Earlier this month, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops released a draft of a pastoral letter on marriage that they plan to discuss and officially issue at their annual meeting this fall.  After having read the draft, I must say that it is a breath of fresh air to see such a clear and thoughtful defense of marriage, and one that is intended to be read by everyone and not just people with advanced degrees in Theology.  It equips all Catholics with the tools to defend against many of the assaults on marriage that we now find coming from our government.

the future of humanity depends on marriage and the family.”

The letter brilliantly makes the connection between all of the previous attacks against marriage and how they have led us to this crucial moment where we face the ultimate redefinition of marriage in accepting so-called same-sex marriages.

After dealing extensively with issues such as contraception, divorce, and even cohabitation with direct yet pastoral clarity, they conclude that “reflecting losses in the understanding of the purposes of marriage… couples more readily treat as separate the decision to get married and the decision to have children.” This redefinition of marriage produces trends to accept things such as so-called same-sex marriages.  This, the say “indicates a mentality in which children are not seen as integral to a marriage but are seen as an afterthought” producing damaging consequences for children, couples, their marriage and eventually all of society.

The result is that people approach marriage as an individualistic endeavor instead of seeing its relation to the good of all society.  The “me” mentality that is perpetuated in a growing welfare state has now infected even the most sacred institutions.

One of the best points of the letter, then, is pointing out how the current attacks on marriage are indeed a redefinition of it.  A selfless giving of oneself to another with the purpose of unifying male and female in an act of procreative love and producing an environment for the upbringing and education of children, is the polar opposite of the individualistic expression of sexual pleasure, with children as an afterthought, that has become the norm for the modern thinking on marriage.  Clearly, the Bishops say, if the former is your idea of marriage then, by definition,  there can be no such thing as same-sex marriage.  But, if the latter is your idea of marriage, then same-sex marriage (and a whole lot more) is  not only possible, but seems to be called for in the name of justice.

So, this is very much a war of philosophies, and we are right to insist that marriage is being redefined by these attacks.  So, while people with same-sex attractions are “to be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity,” this does not demand a redefinition of marriage.

As the bishops conclude… “Today, advocacy for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships is often equated with non-discrimination, fairness, equality, and civil rights. However, it is not unjust to oppose legal recognition of same-sex relationships, because marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities.”

To read the full draft of the Bishop’s letter, go here.

- Patrick Looby