Mendoza, Argentina, May 17, 2010 / 15:49 pm
Amidst a national debate over making same-sex unions equal to marriage, the Archbishop of Mendoza in Argentina lamented the confusion and distress caused by the personal opinions of Father Vicente Reale, who previously voiced support for same-sex “marriage.”
The archdiocesan spokesman, Father Marcelo De Benedectis, clarified the Catholic Church's position saying, “These kinds of unions contradict the natural law.” He added that the Argentinean bishops’ position on this issue has been clear. “Every person is free to have his or her own opinion, but what is important is that the precepts of the Church be defended, because we are profoundly convinced and sure that this is the truth revealed by Jesus,” he said.
An unchanging good
In April the bishops of Argentina reiterated that the good of marriage and the family is “unchangeable,” and warned that “there is no analogous reality that can be put on the same level,” because marriage “is not just any union between persons; it has unique and inalienable characteristics that make it the foundation of the family and of society.”
Stressing that the government has the duty to protect marriage between a man and a woman and to recognize its irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society, the bishops warned that by making same-sex unions equal to marriage, the country would be acting erroneously and would be contradicting its own duties, altering the natural law and the public order of Argentinean society.