Washington D.C., Nov 2, 2008 / 14:07 pm
The U.S. bishops have posted to the YouTube video sharing site two videos about same-sex unions, defending marriage from efforts to redefine it.
“Certain groups and individuals are trying to make same-sex unions the equivalent of marriage," they state. “This is a false idea being proposed and, in some cases, imposed by a minority. This is nothing less than the radical redefinition of marriage -- denying the truth that it is exclusively the union of a man and a woman."
The bishops featured in the videos include Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky and Archbishop of San Antonio José Gomez, who speaks in the Spanish-language video.
In the video, the bishops warn that a successful redefinition of marriage to include same-sex unions “will bring confusion to what marriage actually means. This confusion could spread and have enormous legal consequences for the rearing of children, public education, employment, and religious freedom. Children would be forced to learn that marriage is merely one kind of loving relationship among many. Churches would be prevented from witnessing to and teaching about the necessary and singular role of love between a man and a woman.”
“Same-sex unions and marriage are completely different realities,” they continue. “Reaffirming the traditional understanding of marriage is neither discrimination nor the denial of rights. Like all people, homosexual persons have the right to be treated with respect and to live in peace with the support of their loved ones. But it is to the benefit of all members of society that the institution of marriage be preserved as the relationship of a man and a woman that serves the common good in a distinct way.”
The videos are part of the efforts of the Defense of Marriage Ad Hoc Committee, which assists the bishops and State Catholic Conferences.
Readers may see the videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh_81zsW6U8 and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwCAXQhqd-Q
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