AMERICA/UNITED STATES - “It is our duty as pastors and teachers to promote, preserve, and protect marriage as it is willed by God”: US Catholic Bishops’ statement

Washington (Fides Service) - “It is our duty as pastors and teachers - a responsibility we share with the Christian faithful and with all persons of good will - to promote, preserve, and protect marriage as it is willed by God, as generations have understood and lived it, and as it has served the common good of society.”, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the United States of America said in a statement “Promote, preserve and protect Marriage”. The statement, issued on 9 September 2003 and reaffirmed on 14 March 2006, supports a Federal Marriage Amendment to the US Constitution to specify that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
“The Catholic Church believes and teaches that marriage is a faithful, exclusive, and lifelong union between one man and one woman, joined as husband and wife in an intimate partnership of life and love. Marriage exists so that the spouses might grow in mutual love and, by the generosity of their love, bring children into the world and serve life fully” say the Bishops adding “We believe the natural institution of marriage has been blessed and elevated by Christ Jesus to the dignity of a sacrament. In this way, the love of husband and wife becomes a living image of the way in which the Lord personally loves his people and is united with them”. They also say that at a time when family life is under significant stress, “the principled defence of marriage is an urgent necessity to ensure the flourishing of persons, the wellbeing of children, and the common good of society.” This defence will also mean, the statement underlines “advocating for legislative and public policy initiatives that define and support marriage as a unique, essential relationship and institution”.
Defence of marriage, according to the US Bishops “must focus primarily on the importance of marriage, not on homosexuality or other matters”. Recalling the Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of homosexual persons who must be accepted and treated with respect compassion and sensitivity, the Bishops warn that same sex unions cannot be given the status of marriage “because they do not express full human complementarity and because they are inherently non-procreative”.
The Bishops urge Catholics and all men and women of good will “to join with us in advancing this positive view of the importance of marriage for children and for society, and to defend these principles and the institution of marriage”, especially today when “popular culture, media and entertainment often undermine or ignore the essential role of marriage and promote equivalence between marriage and homosexual relationships.”.
The Bishops conclude saying they “oppose any legislative and judicial attempts, both at state and federal levels, to grant same-sex unions the equivalent status and rights of marriage - by naming them marriage, civil unions or by other means” and offer full “support for a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as we continue to work to protect marriage in state legislatures, the courts, the Congress and other appropriate forums”. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 21/03/2006 righe: 29 parole: 294)