What the Catholic Church teaches about same sex MARRIAGE:
“A hired man, who is not a
shepherd sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away”
When I’ve preached on abortion, I’ve been accused of being a
right wing republican
When I’ve preached about the REQUIREMENT that Christ makes
of us to help the poor I’ve been accused of being a left wing liberal
When I’ve preached on religious freedom – right wing
republican
When I’ve preached on the Church’s teaching on immigration -
left wing liberal
This Comes with the “job.”
In fact, it just comes with being Catholic. That being said, it is important to note that
despite the accusations, the Church is not a political party.
I suspect, in this homily, that some will again accuse me
and/or the Church of meddling where it ought not to go, but, I guess after
being a priest for 5 years now, I just don’t care.
There is a wolf coming that is threatening the sheep that
must be preached on as well because our Church is very clear on this topic. Like the prophets, like Christ, like the
Apostles, like those being martyred today for their Catholic Faith throughout
the world, we preach the truth in season and out of season.
“A hired man, who is not a
shepherd sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away”
This week at the Supreme Court arguments will be heard about
whether marriage ought to be redefined
What I’ve been amazed at over the past few years is how
quickly the tone of this debate has turned.
If you even raise the possibility today that marriage is
between a man and a woman you should prepare for an all-out assault. You should prepare to be labeled a bigot,
angry, hateful, a Pharisee, etc.
One Catholic evangelist notes that we hear a lot about
tolerance. Tolerance is a good thing,
but it implies that I first disagree with a person before I can tolerate
them. We don’t tolerate the sunshine, we
tolerate the rain, and so tolerance can only take place in a climate of
disagreement, and yet tolerance is no longer extended to those who believe that
marriage is between a man and a woman.
One objection to this homily is that “The Church should stay
out of politics”
But this, at the end of the day, makes no sense
If something is talked about by politicians or judges or
whomever, does that mean it is no longer in the realm of Faith? If something is part of our civil discourse,
that we have to STOP talking about it here?
People likely told Fr. Theodore Hesburgh to keep his
religion out of politics when he walked arm in arm with Dr. Martin Luther King
to protest discrimination against African Americans – but he did it any way,
and thanks be to God that he did.
People likely told John Paul II to keep his religion out of
politics as he worked in the political realm to take down Communism – but he
did it anyway, and thanks be to God
The idea that if something is being talked about in the
political sphere means it can’t be talked about as a religious issue just
doesn’t pass muster
If murder were up for discussion at the state house, no one
would tell priests not to preach against murder
Pope Francis, in a daily homily recently, attacked this
belief that if something is in the political realm we should stop talking about
it in Church.
He said: “Some say a good Catholic doesn’t meddle in politics. That’s not true. That is not a good
path. A good Catholic meddles in
politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern… Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the
Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common
good. I cannot wash my hands”
The Church actually compels us to be active in the
political sphere because it is in the political sphere that decisions that
affect the world are made.
The Church has a most
important book called the “Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church” – and
it is a guide to how we are to be active and what we are to work for as people
who are engaged in the civil realm. To
say that we should stay out of these issues civilly is a non-Catholic stance.
Now, on the particular
topic of same-sex marriage – what does the Church say? This is absolutely crucial and so often
confused, and if we want to continue to see marriage being only between a man
and a woman, we have to understand this crucial teaching.
The most important
takeaway from this homily, if you remember nothing else is that the Church says
in its book on these issues - in order to defend marriage you don’t
need the Church, the Bible, or Jesus.
So often people make
this mammoth mistake in talking about this issue. Someone asks you: “Why do you believe marriage is between a man and a woman” and
people respond “because Jesus said so”, or “The
Bible says so,” or “The Catechism
says so” – but the quick follow up question by those who want to redefine
marriage is quite clear – “you can’t make
me do something because your religion says it!”
At this point – most
Christians and Catholics go slinking back home telling themselves “They’re right; I can’t say something ought
to be this way because of religion.”
The Church says,
however, that in order to say that marriage is between a man and a woman you don’t
need the Bible or Jesus or the Church to win the argument. Marriage being between a man and a woman,
according to the Church, is a first
principle – something that you need not be a follower of Christ to
understand.
The Church is not in
the government running business anymore.
We were for many centuries – Popes and Cardinals were highly intertwined
with governments, kings, etc.
We don’t run countries
anymore, and as George Weigel notes, “In separating the Church from the State,
what is clear is that the Church is better off for it. What isn’t clear is whether the state is
better off for it!”
The Church sees its
role as political advisor – particularly in offering first principles up
to nations. What the Church does is say
to all governments, kingdoms, etc. – “here are some first principles, short,
simple, to the point, some things that all just societies must put into
practice if they hope to endure. If you
build your nation on other principles that contradict these, your nation will
not endure.”
And everyone has first
principles. I was on a marriage panel at
Rose Hulman about a year ago and one guy who was arguing for redefining
marriage said “I really think it ultimately comes back to harmony and justice”
–
Okay, so those are your
first principles, the axioms on which you think the country should be founded,
the non-negotiables that everything is built off of. Of course the question quickly becomes “what
is harmony to you?” “who defines
harmony?” “What does justice mean?” “Who defines what justice is?”
Others say a founding
axiom should be that “the government should honor all love because love is
love.” Okay, fair enough, you think that
should be a first principle of our society.
Let’s flesh it out. You think
that all love is the same? What if 8
people all love each other…is that marriage?
What if two cousins love each other?
What if a 55 year old and a 16 year old love each other? Is the government in the “congratulating people
on being in love” business?
Everyone has first
principles, and we have just as much of a right to work for the first
principles that we think our nation should have as anyone else has a right to
work and advocate for first principles that they think our country should have.
So as Catholics, we
work to ensure that marriage being between a man and a woman is a first
principle in our government. We believe
that if it is not, then what will result is vastly different than a just and
healthy society.
"If, from a legal
standpoint, marriage between a man and a woman were to be considered just one
possible form of marriage, the concept of marriage would undergo a radical
transformation, with grave detriment to the common
good." (Compendium of Social Teaching, paragraph 228).
A solution that some
propose but which can not actually work because it does not actually understand
what the Church teaches is the proposed solution that the Church “get out of
the civil marriage business” – civil marriage and if you want to get married in
the Church, go do that too
“It is NOT
appropriate for Church authorities to remain neutral toward adverse legislation
even if it grants exceptions to Church organizations and institutions. The
Church has the responsibility to promote family life and the public morality of
the entire civil society on the basis of fundamental moral values, not simply
to protect herself from the application of harmful laws” - Congregation For
The Doctrine Of The Faith
Over the next several
months, there will be some opportunities to gather and talk about these
hot-button topics. Our parish council
has asked for these sessions, and I think they will be most helpful. We will put some dates together and have an
opportunity to continue to grow towards a deeper understanding of what the
Church teaches on these issues.
These are not easy
issues. I spent the last two years
working on a documentary on what the Church teaches about same sex
attraction. I interviewed a lot of
beautiful people who experience same sex attraction and heard their
stories. It was an amazing experience
for me. The way we grow toward unity is
through dialogue – not through name calling, labeling, and ignoring what the
other side is saying. I look forward to
these opportunities to gather and keep the conversation going.
In Conclusion – I am
not the only shepherd in this room. we
are all, through our baptism, called to shepherd those around us. Do we see our role in society to be a light
to the world – do I believe that I am called to shepherd and get involved in
the civil society I find myself placed in – or do I retreat to my home or my
Church building and say to God, like Cain did – “AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?”
“A hired man, who is not a
shepherd sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away”
We pray for the
strength to be authentic shepherds, to work for the first principles that our
Church puts forth for all societies.
Pope Francis said that we shouldn’t always talk about contraception and
same sex marriage, and I wholeheartedly agree!
What the Pope implies in that comment is that we should talk about them
some of the time. May we have the
courage to do that, and not see problems arising in our country and simply run
away.
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