Gay Rights and the Catholic Church...

[Necromancer07707]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 10:40pm

On February 15th I attended a lecture by Father John Boddie regarding the roles and treatment of African-Americans in the Roman Catholic Church. Father Boddie preaches at two parishes in Richmond Virginia, and is one of only three African American priests in the Richmond area. Despite the contents of his speech, the following animated discussion was primarily centered on the topic of same-sex marriage. I have supported same-sex marriage for some time now, but it wasn’t until last night that I found many justifications for homosexual marriage in the Catholic Church.
In Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia, the landmark court case in 1967 that legalized interracial marriage, a Catholic priest argued the cause for the Commonwealth. He claimed that in order to save God’s traditional marriage, we have to ban interracial marriage. If the word “interracial” were replaced with “same sex” in the sentence prior, the sentence would not at all be unfamiliar to us. Tradition, many Catholics believe, is cause enough for preventing homosexual marriage. So if allowing interracial marriage broke tradition, why shouldn’t tradition be broken to allow marriage of other sorts?
I can already hear the reply to my preceding question. “But Adam and Eve were man and woman. Man and woman, since the dawn of time, has been the only formula for creating a family.” Well, Adam and Eve were of the same race, too. And neither were mentally handicapped, or practiced a different religion, or were infertile, or… you get the point. The story of Adam and Eve is not a story of “who,” it is a story of “what.” The story is about relationship and sin, not about the lover and the sinner.
Some Catholic opponents of gay marriage also point to the laws of the Bible that clearly prohibit homosexual activity or relationships. In at least five books of the Bible, interracial relationships are banned (thus far I am aware of such laws in Deuteronomy, Numbers, Kings, Ezra, and Nehmiah). The Bible was, in the end, written by humans filled with prejudices and ignorance. We can recognize this in statements regarding interracial marriage, why not gay marriage?
In discussing this topic with Father Boddie, he stated that the banning of marriage has often been used as a weapon. He referred to laws created prior to and even after the Civil War that banned the marriage of African Americans. Such a beautiful thing as marriage should not be twisted into a weapon! “We are called to learn from our experiences,” Boddie repeatedly said. The Catholic Church’s history of racism and xenophobia can easily be applied to sexism and homophobia, and it is the Church’s responsibility to use past experiences to handle the problems of today.
“There is not a crisis of priests,” Boddie stated. He honestly believed that there was not a lack of willing laypeople who wished to become priests. Many females and married men would be more than happy to be priests. I would make a similar statement regarding marriage. Despite divorce rates soaring in recent decades, there is no crisis of marriage. Some of the deepest, most meaningful relationships are being banned from the celebration and commitment of marriage.
Father Boddie’s discussion had a shred of light. He used the popular Catholic motto, “love conquers all.” Love even conquers law and doctrine. He called the audience to remember the story of Jesus before Pontius Pilot. Just as Pontius Pilot had no power over Jesus’ fate, law and doctrine has no power over the fate of same sex marriage. It is only a matter of time before the progressive sentiments rise up against and defeat law, he believes. It is my belief that in the mean time, however, it would be best to erase the bliss of ignorance that has been created by our culture.

Updated On: 2/18/05 at 10:40 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 11:29pm

Necromancer I have long since given up arguing Religion. I have moved on now to saying YOUR CHURCH can sanctify (or not) any marriage they choose, but please don't let your dogma direct public policy. Any marriage performed by the government (outside of a church, that is) is a CIVIL UNION. I have no idea why any church feels like they need to get involved.

There are many things that the government certifies which churches might not approve of: Divorce, gambling, drinking, driving cars.....

[Necromancer07707]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 11:36pm

Being raised in Catholic schools for the last 12 years and seeing how religious beliefs have impact on political decisions, I figured it was about damn time I came up with some sort of argument that shows the "selecttive diversity" of the Catholic church when it comes to gay rights.

[CatieElphie1]

Posted: 2/18/05 at 11:37pm

sigh....
I'm a "catholic" right now. I wish I could tell my family and friends how I really feel about thier stupid religion, but I can't. I'm too afraid. Sure, i belive in Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all that, but I can't stand the way the church condemns and then preaches a message of love.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/19/05 at 1:58am

That's why I have voiced my concerns with the church and religion as a whole to my parents and others - many of my friends agree. My parents have never been terribly religious, but weren't fond of the idea that I basically said I think it's all garbage and don't believe in God. Don't be afraid to speak your mind. Your opinion is just as important as the opinions outline in the Bible, which is just that - opinions.