Mexico City, Mexico, Aug 17, 2010 / 19:59 pm
The Bishops’ Conference of Mexico released a statement on Tuesday rejecting the decision by the country’s Supreme Court to uphold the legality of same-sex “marriage” and to allow gay couples to adopt. The prelates remarked that the ruling not only goes against the natural order, but also against the will of the people.
Here is the complete statement titled, “Responsibility and Free Expression, a Right of Every Person.”
During recent days the media has bombarded us with the controversial issue of same-sex 'marriage' and their adoption of children.
We are all aware of Mexico City Assembly’s decision to pass a law that opened the door to these kinds of unions. This decision was carried out hurriedly, without the necessary consultation of different leaders in society and without concern for the consensus of the majority, which was against such unions and especially the adoption of children. The steamroller of the ruling party prevailed and debate on the issue was set aside to the detriment of the majority of society that was shown to be against it.
The attorney general's office challenged the measure’s constitutionality before the Supreme Court, thus demonstrating its disagreement. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ended its debate without getting to the heart of the issue and only confirming the legality of the juridical process carried out by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly.
The Bishops of Mexico, sensitive to the opinion of the majority not only in Mexico City, but also in the entire country, exercising the freedom of expression guaranteed by our democratic political regime, manifest our total disagreement with the ruling issued by the Supreme Court, with all due respect for the institutions of the Mexican State. We believe that to make these unions equal to marriage is disrespectful both to the very essence of marriage between a man and a woman, as expressed in article 4 of the Constitution, as well as to the customs and the very culture that has governed us for centuries.
The Church, made up of all the baptized, watches over the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, and in this case, children who are the weakest among us. For this reason, based on natural law and our faith, as pastors, the bishops have always and will always be on the side of the rights of the unborn, of those who cannot watch over themselves, of those humiliated and exploited in every sphere.
The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, at different times and with appropriate reflections, has insisted on the importance of safeguarding the fundamental values of the human person from conception to natural death. Likewise, he has expressed the importance of respecting and protecting creation, nature in general and human nature in particular. The environmental awareness that has won so many converts for the safeguarding of different species, respecting their natural processes, should include the human species, whose dignity and consciousness of its own development is superior to all. For this reason, the Church discovers in nature itself the dignity of marriage between a man and a woman. This encourages us to promote the dignity of the couple and their offspring by appealing to natural and moral values.
We lament that in manifesting these concepts to the public, there exist those who respond with recriminations and threats, claiming this is intolerant, when tolerance is supposed to ensure that we call all express our opinions and positions. For this reason, we express our solidarity and our feelings to Cardinals Norberto Rivera Carrera and Juan Sandoval Iniguez about this delicate issue.
What Mexico is experiencing now demands a dignified debate that unites us and in which all members of society together address the problems that afflict us: the lack of security, violence, corruption, unemployment, etc. It is urgent that our country put an end to the hindrances of stubbornness, exclusion and prejudices of all kinds, and that all of us as brothers and sisters strive to build a Mexico with room for all and respect for the rights of each individual, where transparency and the good use of democratic freedoms make our nation prosperous based on transcendent values.
As pastors of the People of God and brothers of all, we bishops call on the faithful to pray to the Holy Mary of Guadalupe for the decisions of our leaders and for all the children who have no voice but who have the right to have a family that can be an example of virtues for them.”