New York bishops issue statement against same-sex marriage

June 04, 2009

Following the passage of same-sex marriage legislation in the state assembly, New York’s bishops “fervently pray that members of the state Senate will stand firm in opposition to this ill-advised legislation, and we call on Catholics and all New Yorkers to contact their Senators to make their voices heard.”

“Our opposition to this bill is based not only on Catholic teaching regarding human sexuality and the Sacrament of Marriage,” the bishops note. “Just as importantly, it is based on reason, sound public policy, and plain common sense, as we stated in our 2008 pastoral statement on same-sex ‘marriage.’ To briefly reiterate, the state has a compelling legal interest in promoting marriage between men and women in order to create stable families and provide for the safety, health and well being of children. The state has no such compelling legal interest in recognizing a relationship between two people of the same sex.”

“If there are injustices against those in relationships other than marriage,” the bishops continue, “those injustices can certainly be reformed and corrected in a way other than by drastically redefining marriage.”

 

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Further information:

• Statement of the Catholic Bishops of New York State on Marriage (New York State Catholic Conference)