Connect the dots: Proposition 8 and the State of Connecticutt

Many people have heard me rant and rave about the contraditictions involved in the state of CA recent ballot initiative, namely proposition 8 which was voted down by the people in the most recent election.  The problem is that instead of yielding to the “vote of the people” in the same way that everyone else must adhere to, many people, who are in favor of this political movement have branded those who oppose them as “hate-mongers” or “homo-phobes.”  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In the state of Connecticutt, another initiative was secretly proposed which sparked outrage among the citizens, in particular, the Catholic Church for whom the legislation was proposed.  Isn’t the government supposed to protect religious liberties?  I am going to attempt to write about both of these through the prism of Roman Catholic teachings so as to educate Catholics on why these two legal issues are important to them.

In regard to the first issue of proposition 8, some would attempt to make the argument that organized religion is attempting to suppress Gay persons.  In all honesty, that’s not what is taking place.  What is taking place is the battle for “re-defining” marriage.  Does the government need a Constitutional Amendment or can the individual states govern themselves.  This is an honest discussion.  What is not honest, is the purpose behind the need to re-define in the first place.

The Catholic Church has always maintained and taught that the institution of “Marriage” is from God.  We didn’t create the concept!  God did.  And human beings are not free to “re-define” what by definition is from God.  They may reject the teaching, but they cannot redefine it.  And for Catholic Christians and numerous other denominations as well, marriage is defined as a union between 1 man and 1 woman.  This is where the battle line is drawn.  But before I launch into the battle, allow me to explain from the position of Catholic teaching why we believe and uphold the sanctity of marriage and its definition as given to us by God.

In the book of Genesis, we read, “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.  God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.  Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth. (Gen. 1: 27 – 28).  And in another passage from Genesis, “So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man.  When he brought her to the man, the man said, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.”  (Gen. 2: 21-24)

It is God who is the Creator of all.  It is God who set His plan into motion.  It is God who defined who and what human beings were to creation, themselves, and God.  It was human beings, influenced by Satan that made choices contrary to this divine plan and perfect order.

Getting back to defining marriage then, the Church relies upon the words of God:  “What God has joined, let no man put asunder.”  God joined the original man and woman in the Garden of Eden or perfection.  Every sin under the sun and every disordered relationship occurs not through God’s will but through mankinds hardness of heart.  “We are only bitter towards God’s Law when we desire to break God’s Law.”

God is the author of human sexuality.  God created human beings to be compatible with each other.  The generative nature of human beings was the original blessing of God.  And yet today, it is seen as the original curse through the lack of trust in God when it comes to our fertility and the use of birth control methods to take creative measure into our own hands.

Human sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, united by God takes on the act of a virtue.  Sexual intercourse is the body’s language of “renewing the wedding vows.”  Catholics make four promises in three commitments when they marry each other at the altar of God.

1) Do you come here (freely) and without reservation (totally) to give yourselves to each other in marriage?  The couple answers, we do!

2) Do you promise to love each other has husband and wife until death do you part? (Fidelity)  The couple answers, we do!

3) Do you promise to accept children lovingly from God and to raise them according to the life of Christ and his Church? (Fruitful fertility) The couple answers, we do!

In sexual intercourse, a couple is taking these four concepts of free, total, faithful, and fruitful love and speaking this language with their bodies, as God intended.  They are renewing their wedding vows.

On the contrary, when any form of contraception is introduced, it is the equivalent of taking the “I do’s” of the wedding vows and replacing it with “I do not.“  Think about it, Free:  Contraception was not invented to prevent pregnancy!  We already had a 100% safe, 100% reliable way of doing that, namely abstinence.  Total:  Contracepted intercourse says, “I give myself to you totally… no I don’t.  (You are withholding the original blessings attached to fertility.)  Faithful:  How can we speak of fidelity when we’re violating freedom, total self-giving, and openness to children?

When we unite these concepts to Christ we get the fuller picture:  Christ gives his body freely: “No one takes my life from me, I lay it down of my own accord. (Jn. 10:18).  He gives his body totally, without reservation, condition, or selfish calculation: “He loved them to the last”(Jn. 13:1).  He gives his body faithfully: “I am with you always” (Mt. 28:20).  He gives his body fruitfully: “I came that they might have life.” (Jn. 10:10).  If men and women are to avoid the pitfalls of counterfeit love, their union must express the same free, total, faithful, and fruitful love of Christ.

Because our bodies are created to reveal truths of God, they can also speak a lie.  The body “speaks” in numerous ways.  When it “speaks,” it can tell the truth or lie.  A used-car salesman who knowingly sells you a lemon and shakes your hand has lied with his body.  Judas lied with his body when he kissed Jesus in the garden.  Couples who have sex but do not give themselves freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully, also lie with their bodies.

Now let us return to Proposition 8.  The Gay community would argue that marriage would make them more “part of the community as a whole.”  Fact:  Gay persons have always existed within the culture of human kind.  The only thing that they cannot have is the title of being married since the culture has always adopted the European definition of marriage to be between a man and a woman.  However, as a human being, they have all the rights and priviledges of any Heterosexual person.  In fact, many Gay people contribute to the society as a whole in many noble ways.

The Gay community, in wanting to define marriage, want the language of law to be more inclusive to include “the union of any two persons.”  The problem with this is that if this wording becomes the law, then it would technically be “illegal” for any Church body to teach the tennants that marriage is between one man and one woman.  It would be considered hate speech.  Church’s could be challenged and any tax exempt status that they now enjoy could be stripped away.  Church minister’s could be sued and perhaps thrown in jail.  Of course, you don’t hear that point of view from the Gay community.  They say that they’re only interested in their own rights to be expanded.  If you need any further proof that this is a lie, just look up what took place in the state of Connecticutt recently.

A few senators introduced legislation that in essence would strip the Catholic Church alone of all it’s independent financial control of their parishes and turn it over to an “elected group” within each parish.  This would remove the pastor and the bishop from being able to run their particular parish entities.  This may have arisen due to the fiscal irresponsibility of a single pastor, but to attempt to sneak legislation into law was even more irresponsibile.  Public outrage took place and the senators recanted their position, and their legislature, “tabled the issue for now.”  Very clever language… it will come back at a later date.

If the mere definition of marriage were to succeed in California, other states would quickly follow and the Catholic Church would be under attack; at least indirectly harassed through legal channels.  If the Connecticutt law were to be enacted, the Catholic Church would be under attack, at least structurally and hierarchially speaking.

I am the strongest proponent of the separation of Church and State.  I do not ever want the government to dictate how I should proclaim the Gospels and the truths of Jesus Christ.  And personally, I envy the African American Churches that are allowed to speak politically within their presentation of the Gospel, without any fear of state interference.  You never hear of an African American Church being sensored for mentioning or supporting a political  perspective.  That is due to the fact that there are certain exemptions from the Church and State debate.  This particular culture and their politics grew up side by side throughout their historical years of slavery and oppresion.  But keep this in mind:  an attack on one church will soon lead to an attack on all Churches.  The attacks on one groups “philosophical and theological beliefs” will lead to similar attacks on other religious groups.

America’s greatness was that she guaranteed religious liberty to all.  And now, slowly but surely we are seeing legislation that is being created under false pretenses, such as “civil liberties” in the case of the Gay community and “fiscal responsibility” in the case of the Connecticutt legislature.  Where will it stop?  When will it stop?  For these questions, I have no answers.

But thanks be to God that many within our culture still adhere to principles and have the personal integrity and desire to fight for them and pray to further develop them.  The Catholic faith does not hate Gay people.  Nor does it militate against lawful assemblies that serve the common good.  But if we don’t understand “why” religion teaches what it does, then tragically we may slowly lose our ways with God and with our neighbors… if it hasn’t already taken place.

For those who may want to study further the Catholic thought on Marriage, Christian Vocation, and Sexuality, please seek to read, “Theology of the Body” by Pope John Paul II.  Christopher West has also done remarkable work at bringing this wonderful teaching to the masses.  His resources, which I use heavily and quoted from in this blog can be found at www.AscensionPress.com