Are Catholics the New Mormons in the Fight Against Same-Sex Marriage?
There are numerous Catholics and Mormons that not only support LGBT rights, but use the tenets of their religion to justify being in favor of things like marriage equality, non-discrimination acts, decriminalization of homosexuality, etc.
Sadly, most of these Catholics and Mormons aren't in the leadership of their institutional churches. That fact is ever present when talking about Catholics, who as an institutional body, might just be the most homophobic and anti-LGBT entity in the country. The latest string of comments?
There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA. Hard-wired into us is a dictionary, and the dictionary defines marriage as between one man, one woman for life, please God, leading to the procreation of human life. And if we begin to tamper with the very definition of marriage, then we're going to be in big trouble. We're not anti-gay-- we're pro the most basic definition of marriage.
Damn them bishops, always getting slippery. That argument - we're not anti-gay, we're just pro-marriage - is the new talking point on the religious right. Gone are the days when social conservatives used "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" as their biggest talking point. Now they're trying to parse words, to make positions that are anti-thetical to civil rights sound downright wholesome.
Upping Timothy Dolan was the Bishop of Maine, who testified against marriage equality this past week during statewide hearings in Augusta. Despite the fact that most Maine Catholics actually support same-sex marriage, here's where Bishop Richard Malone came down:
Let me be clear. Our objection to same-sex marriage is not based on a belief that gay and lesbian Mainers are somehow undeserving of civil rights because of their sexual orientation...[the diocese opposes same-sex marriage] because we are deeply concerned about the institution of marriage itself in this state and in this nation...We are equally concerned about the high rate of divorce among heterosexual couples, the cheapening of sexual relationships portrayed by the media and the growing occurrence of single parenthood and the challenges faced by single parents.
Picking apart Bishop Malone's statement, you could easily rephrase his comments as, "I don't want to make it sound like I'm in favor of taking away civil rights for gay and lesbian Mainers, but really, that's where I come down." Sounds a little Miss USA to me.
But the more interesting thing at play here to me is the visibility that Catholic bishops are taking in the fight against same-sex marriage. Yes, the Knights of Columbus were one of the largest donors to efforts to pass Proposition 8, but Catholics were largely overshadowed in that effort by the organizing and fundraising prowess of the Mormon Church. But in this latest round of marriage equality debates, most notably in New York, Maine, and New Hampshire, it's the Catholic Church taking on a statewide leadership role.
Is the U.S. Catholic Church now leading the grassroots movement against same-sex marriage in this country? Or have they always been this active, but are now stepping out of the shadows of Mormon and evangelical groups (like the American Family Association, or the Family Research Council) which have typically been at the forefront of movements opposing civil rights for LGBT people?
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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