The pope, Mormons, and Muslims agree…
Religious groups line up for and against the legalization of same-sex marriage
The California Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage has created rifts between and within religious groups. Even before the court’s ruling went into effect on June 17, several Episcopalian, Unitarian Universalist, and Methodist clergy said they would officiate at same-sex marriages. And, though the Catholic Church has condemned the ruling, one Catholic priest has allegedly said he will witness same-sex unions.
The Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, who has been blessing same-sex unions for 16 years, told the San Jose Mercury News this month that she supports same-sex marriage because she favors “everything we can do to build up the values that make strong families. I think the values matter more than the gender of the people making up the heads of those families."
Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California (which, despite its name, includes only the San Francisco Bay area) is another supporter of same-sex marriage. Not only has he called on his Episcopalian parishioners to oppose a November ballot initiative that would forbid same-sex marriages, but he encouraged his clergy to help San Francisco officials conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies. Andrus, however, said his clergy may not dress in clerics when they witness the unions.
Other religious groups have taken an active stand against same-sex marriage and for the November ballot initiative. The Mormon Church has issued a statement (read on Sunday, June 29), urging members to donate “your means and time” to the initiative. "The church's teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God," says the letter.
At a meeting of Catholic and Muslim scholars at Rancho Palos Verdes, May 27-28, the Muslim participants asked their Catholic counterparts to join the Muslim Shura Council in opposing the state Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision. The Catholics – the Rev. Francis Tiso, Dr. June O’Connor, the Rev. Alexei Smith, Msgr. Dennis Mikulanis, the Rev. Dennis McManus, and the Rev. Rafael Luévano – said they would make available U.S. bishops’ conference documents on same-sex unions and would “network with the the California Council of Bishops’ offices for social justice,” said a June 16 SperoNews story.
The California bishops’ conference, along with individual bishops, have weighed in against the Supreme Court decision. Pope Benedict XVI, speaking the day after the court decisions, himself noted, "the union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions."
Still Kerry Chaplin, director of California Faith for Equality (which fights for same-sex rights) told the Mercury News that she knew of one Catholic priest who would marry same-sex couples. And Antonio Salas, coordinator for the homosexual and transgender support group at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit parish at the University of California, Berkeley, told the News he knew of “renegade priests” who have performed marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
"The greatest sin is to sin against your conscience,” said Salas. “With an informed conscience, you can dissent from the church's teaching.”
Religious groups line up for and against the legalization of same-sex marriage
The California Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage has created rifts between and within religious groups. Even before the court’s ruling went into effect on June 17, several Episcopalian, Unitarian Universalist, and Methodist clergy said they would officiate at same-sex marriages. And, though the Catholic Church has condemned the ruling, one Catholic priest has allegedly said he will witness same-sex unions.
The Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, who has been blessing same-sex unions for 16 years, told the San Jose Mercury News this month that she supports same-sex marriage because she favors “everything we can do to build up the values that make strong families. I think the values matter more than the gender of the people making up the heads of those families."
Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California (which, despite its name, includes only the San Francisco Bay area) is another supporter of same-sex marriage. Not only has he called on his Episcopalian parishioners to oppose a November ballot initiative that would forbid same-sex marriages, but he encouraged his clergy to help San Francisco officials conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies. Andrus, however, said his clergy may not dress in clerics when they witness the unions.
Other religious groups have taken an active stand against same-sex marriage and for the November ballot initiative. The Mormon Church has issued a statement (read on Sunday, June 29), urging members to donate “your means and time” to the initiative. "The church's teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God," says the letter.
At a meeting of Catholic and Muslim scholars at Rancho Palos Verdes, May 27-28, the Muslim participants asked their Catholic counterparts to join the Muslim Shura Council in opposing the state Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision. The Catholics – the Rev. Francis Tiso, Dr. June O’Connor, the Rev. Alexei Smith, Msgr. Dennis Mikulanis, the Rev. Dennis McManus, and the Rev. Rafael Luévano – said they would make available U.S. bishops’ conference documents on same-sex unions and would “network with the the California Council of Bishops’ offices for social justice,” said a June 16 SperoNews story.
The California bishops’ conference, along with individual bishops, have weighed in against the Supreme Court decision. Pope Benedict XVI, speaking the day after the court decisions, himself noted, "the union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that can not be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions."
Still Kerry Chaplin, director of California Faith for Equality (which fights for same-sex rights) told the Mercury News that she knew of one Catholic priest who would marry same-sex couples. And Antonio Salas, coordinator for the homosexual and transgender support group at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit parish at the University of California, Berkeley, told the News he knew of “renegade priests” who have performed marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
"The greatest sin is to sin against your conscience,” said Salas. “With an informed conscience, you can dissent from the church's teaching.”
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