Catholic marriage won't change, bishop says after Tim Kaine comments

Richmond, Va., Sep 13, 2016 / 15:56 pm

Soon after Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine suggested the Catholic Church would change on same-sex marriage, the Bishop of Richmond has said Catholic teaching on marriage is constant.

"More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on marriage, and despite recent statements from the campaign trail, the Catholic Church's 2000-year-old teaching to the truth about what constitutes marriage remains unchanged and resolute," Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond said Sept. 13.

"As Catholics, we believe all humans warrant dignity and deserve love and respect, and unjust discrimination is always wrong," he said. "Our understanding of marriage, however, is a matter of justice and fidelity to our Creator's original design."

Bishop DiLorenzo's statement does not mention Kaine. The former U.S. Senator is a parishioner at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in the Diocese of Richmond.

"Marriage is the only institution uniting one man and one woman with each other and with any child who comes from their union," said the bishop.

Kaine made his comments in a Sept. 10 keynote address at the national dinner for the influential LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign. He said his "full, complete, unconditional support for marriage equality" is at odds with "the current doctrine of the church that I still attend."

"But I think that's going to change, too," he said.

He cited God's declaration in the Book of Genesis that creation, including mankind, is "very good."

He also cited Pope Francis' "who am I to judge" comment, and then said: "I want to add: Who am I to challenge God for the beautiful diversity of the human family? I think we're supposed to celebrate it, not challenge it."

Bishop DiLorenzo's statement suggested that same-sex marriage purposely deprives children of the right to be "nurtured and loved by a mother and a father."

"We call on Catholics and all those concerned for preserving this sacred union to unite in prayer, to live and speak out with compassion and charity about the true nature of marriage – the heart of family life," the bishop said.

Kaine has also been a staunch supporter of pro-abortion political causes. Though he says he is "personally opposed" to abortion, he received a 100 percent rating in 2016 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of the United States' largest abortion provider.