Monday, September 19, 2022
Excellent article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at Human Life Int'l - please, please see www.hli.org
Our Mission
Resources
Podcast
Blog
Search
DONATE
Free Guide: Abortion Myths and Facts
Senate to Vote on Same-Sex “Marriage”
By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet | September 19, 2022 | 0
According to reports, the U.S. Senate is likely to vote within weeks on the deceptively titled “Respect for Marriage Act.”
This radical bill already passed the U.S. House in July, with the help of 47 Republicans. Now, however, it needs to pass the Senate, where its fate is more uncertain. However, I am concerned that certain Republican Senators are quietly planning on supporting it, which could ensure its passage.
For this reason, it is crucial that Americans reading this column immediately contact their senators, letting them know that they expect them to vote against this destructive bill.
Far from “respecting” marriage, this bill will repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and enshrine in law the re-definition of marriage. The law would thus mandate that the federal government and states recognize any marriage contracted by “two individuals” – including members of the same sex – so long as it was legal in the state where they got “married.”
rainbow flag
Same-sex “marriage” has, of course, been legal in the U.S. ever since the U.S. Supreme Court unilaterally imposed it on the nation in Obergefell v. Hodges. Now, however, LGBT activists are hoping to solidify its position in U.S. law, legalizing the redefinition of marriage outside the reach of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision to introduce this bill was in large part motivated by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The judges who overturned Roe made the utterly reasonable argument that the Constitution has nothing at all to say about abortion, and that the issue should be decided by the people or their elected representatives. LGBT activists were quick to note – quite rightly – that the same logic would also apply to Obergefell. In that case, a handful of judges decided that they knew better than the millions of Americans who had voted in referenda to keep marriage between one man and one women and invented a new “right” that the framers of the Constitution would have thought absurd.
In his concurring opinion to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Justice Clarence Thomas specifically singled out Obergefell as one of several cases based upon due process considerations that the Court should “reconsider.” In response to which, LGBT activists immediately kicked off the campaign to pass the “Respect for Marriage Act.”
Archbishop Cordileone Defends True Marriage
In July, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco wrote a pair of letters to both the U.S. House and Senate, urging legislators to vote against the legislation.
In his letter to the Senate, Archbishop Cordileone, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth at the United States Conference of Catholic bishops (USCCB), noted that those people who experience same-sex attraction “should be treated with the same respect and compassion as anyone.” However, he noted, it is not “discrimination” to hold fast to the principle “that an inherent aspect of the definition of marriage itself is the complementarity between the two sexes.”
“Marriage as a lifelong, exclusive union of one man and one woman, and open to new life, is not just a religious ideal – it is, on the whole, what is best for society in a concrete sense, especially for children,” the archbishop noted.
Archbishop Cordileone also took aim at the common talking point that recognizing same-sex “marriage” is simply a matter of choosing to “live and let live.” In reality, he notes, the legalization of same-sex “marriage” has always been closely followed by attacks on the rights of those who oppose the redefinition of marriage.
As he noted:
[G]overnments continue to use marriage redefinition laws to threaten the conscience and religious freedom of individuals such as wedding vendors, and entities such as foster care and other social service providers, who seek to serve their communities without being punished for their longstanding and well-founded beliefs. This bill would lend weight to those efforts and further marginalize millions of “reasonable and sincere people.”
In reality, said the archbishop, the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act,” “would do the opposite of what its name implies, codifying a demand for states and the federal government to honor whatever may be deemed ‘marriage’ by any other state.”
The archbishop also noted that the bill, by mandating that states recognize marriages that are legal in other states, would also open the door to the further re-definition of marriage to encompass polygamous or so-called “polyamorous” relationships.
“By making federal recognition of such relationships automatic upon their recognition by any state, the bill would create a massive incentive for radical activists to concentrate their efforts in a single state – further lending plausibility to this potentially disastrous scenario,” he noted, concluding, “for all of these reasons, I must urge you to vote ‘no’ on this measure.”
Legislators Under Massive Pressure
Unsurprisingly, many wealthy and powerful organizations, companies, and activists are throwing their full weight behind the new bill, exerting immense pressure on Republican Senators to get in line.
One huge organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), announced a few days ago that they have obtained the support of 226 different corporations in support of the bill. This includes giants like Amazon, Apple, Airbnb, Bank of America, Google, Nike, General Motors, PepsiCo, and countless others.
All told, these companies do trillions of dollars in business every year. And the message to legislators is clear: go against our wishes, and we will do everything in our power to punish you.
Such, unfortunately, is the state of business in America, where large corporations do not hesitate to use their vast economic clout to shape American law and culture to the hyper-progressive agendas endorsed by their “woke” executives and HR departments.
Naturally, many of the rank-and-file employees in these companies do not support this woke agenda. But the uber-wealthy executives are uninterested in consulting the people who keep their economic engine functioning. Instead, they use their businesses as cudgels to change America in ways that the grassroots of the country does not support.
Your Voice Matters
Meanwhile, HRC is also using its money and organizational apparatus to mobilize the progressive grassroots to contact senators, claiming to have put in over 10,000 phone calls, and to have sent tens of thousands of e-mails. It is up to us to ensure that HRC’s efforts are drowned out by the voices of common sense Americans who understand what is at stake in the battle over marriage.
Unfortunately, we already live in a nation where same-sex “marriage” is legal, thanks to the Supreme Court. However, the “Respect for Marriage Act” would further entrench this novel institution in U.S. law, making it harder for America ever to return to sanity. The passage of this bill would also send a signal that U.S. law has no tolerance for the rights of states and their people to protect the true definition of marriage.
At the moment, Democrat Senators say they are not sure whether enough Republicans will cross the aisle on this issue to ensure the passage of this bill. We must make sure that our GOP Senators know that their constituents expect them to do the right thing.
Marriage simply is the union of one man and one woman. Within this relationship we find the sexual complementarity that permits the begetting of children without resorting to macabre and debasing (but alas, increasingly common) technologies that commodify human life. And within this relationship, the right of children to know and be raised by both their mother and father is respected.
As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote in their 2003 document on the issue of same-sex “marriage”:
Homosexual unions are totally lacking in the biological and anthropological elements of marriage and family which would be the basis, on the level of reason, for granting them legal recognition. Such unions are not able to contribute in a proper way to the procreation and survival of the human race. The possibility of using recently discovered methods of artificial reproduction, beyond involving a grave lack of respect for human dignity, does nothing to alter this inadequacy. (Considerations Regarding Proposals, no. 7)
Contact Your Senator
As Catholics we have a moral responsibility to resist the spirit of the age, and to do whatever is in our power to protect marriage against the sexual revolutionaries. Indeed, the CDF unambiguously laid out the responsibility of Catholics faced with the issue of same-sex “marriage” the 1986 document, “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons.” There they wrote:
In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty. One must refrain from any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws and, as far as possible, from material cooperation on the level of their application. In this area, everyone can exercise the right to conscientious objection.
So please, contact your Senator today, and tell them to vote “no” on the so-called “Respect Marriage Act.”
Did you find this useful?
Then you'll also appreciate having the answers to the 10 most common pro-abortion myths condensed into a free infographic for you. Sign up to get the facts!
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Share
Tweet
More
Posted in Spirit & Life Blog
About Fr. Shenan J. Boquet
Father Shenan J. Boquet was ordained in 1993 and is a priest of the Houma-Thibodaux Roman Catholic Diocese in Louisiana, his home state, where he served before joining HLI in August 2011. Father Boquet earned a BA from Saint Joseph Seminary College, a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology, a Certification Program in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and a Master of Science in Bioethics (MSBe) from the University of Mary in Bismarck. In 2018, Father Boquet was awarded an honorary visiting professorship by the Benedict XVI Catholic University in Trujillo, Peru. He is available for interviews and bookings on behalf of HLI by emailing hli@hli.org.
View all posts by Fr. Shenan J. Boquet →
Leave a Comment
Comment
Name (required)
Email (will not be published) (required)
Free Guide!
We've compiled the responses to 10 of the most common pro-abortion myths into one free infographic. Don't miss it!
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Latest Articles:
Spirit & Life Blog
Pro-Life Resources
Mission Stories
Mission Report Newsletter
HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL
4 Family Life Lane
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone: 1-800-549-5433
Email: hli@hli.org
© 2022 Human Life International
QUICK LINKS
Contact Us
Leadership
Offices
Store
Ways to Give
St. Michael Prayer Campaign
Annual Reports
Whistleblower Policy
Privacy Policy
LIVING A CULTURE OF LIFE PODCAST
Share
Tweet
More
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2022
(8758)
-
▼
September
(320)
- Dear, dear President Joe Biden - please, please su...
- An outstanding article by Alexandra Snyder, Execut...
- Excellent article by Alexandra Snyder, Executive D...
- Wonderful article by Alexandra Snyder, Executive D...
- Dear, dear friends at Google - please, please help!
- Outstandimg article by Alexandra Snyder at Life Le...
- Wonderful article by Alexandra Snyder at Life Lega...
- An excellent article by Alexandra Snyder at Life L...
- Greetings in the wonderful name of JESUS!
- Tremendous article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at H...
- Excellent article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at Hu...
- A wonderful article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at ...
- Please help! An outstanding article by Mr. Bobby ...
- Wonderful article by Mr. Bobby Schindler at Terri ...
- An excellent article by Mr. Bobby Schindler at Ter...
- Please read the excellent article by Alexandra Sny...
- Wonderful article by Alexandra Snyder at Life Lega...
- An excellent article by Alexandra Snyder at Life L...
- Looking for a church to attend.
- Help end the flow of taxpayers' dollars to Planned...
- Help improve the Health Care System - please see w...
- Help improve the Justice System.
- Please, please help end the Mafia and other organi...
- Please help end the Mafia and other organized crim...
- Help end the Mafia and other organized crime groups.
- Dear, dear sisters and brothers in Messiah Y'Shua ...
- The victory is yours JESUS - the name above all na...
- Greetings in the glorious name of JESUS - the name...
- Help give land back to Native Americans and help g...
- Help end pornography and erotica today!
- Help end slavery throughout the world today!
- Help end the greatest human rioghts abuse going on...
- Our Creator is Holy, Just, Almighty!
- Thank you ABBA! Thank you JESUS!
- JESUS is LORD!
- Do only humans have human DNA and human chromosomes?
- Help end the war on the unborn children.
- Help end the destruction of life.
- Love always protects. Love always trusts.
- We love, because HE first loved us.
- Love one another.
- Looking for a church to attend.
- Please don't forget about Mrs. Terri Schiavo - sta...
- Don't forget about Mr. Bobby Seale - gagged and ch...
- Dear, dear friends at American Civil Liberties Uni...
- Humans are created by our Creator, in HIS image, f...
- Only humans have human DNA and human chromosomes.
- Life is a gift from the LORD.
- The victory is yours JESUS - the name above all na...
- Greetings in the wonderful name of JESUS - the nam...
- Flee sexual immorality.
- Resist the devil and he will flee.
- Dear, dear Vice President Kamala Harris - please, ...
- Dear, dear NJ Governor Phil murphy - please help s...
- Dear, dear friends at Congressman Josh Gottheimer'...
- Dear, dear friends at Women's Choice Network - ple...
- Dear, dear friends at Hillel Int'l - please, pleas...
- Dear. dear friends at Chosen People Ministries - p...
- Dear, dear family, friends, and all others concern...
- Dear, dear sisters and brothers in Messiah Y'Shua ...
- JESUS is the Hloy One of Israel!
- JESUS is LORD!
- This is the day the LORD has made - let us rejoice...
- Dear, dear friends at Amazon - please, please help!
- Dear, dear friends at Google - please, please help!
- Dear, dear friends at Voice of the Martrys - pleas...
- "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask wh...
- "Some see things as they are and ask why. I see t...
- Dear, dear friends at The Southern Povery Law Cent...
- Tremendous article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at H...
- Excellent article be Father Shenan J. Boquet at Hu...
- A wonderful article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at ...
- Help end the Mafia and other organized crime group...
- Help improve the Justice System. Do the poor and ...
- Help give land back to Native Americans and help g...
- Help end slavery throughout the world today.
- Help end child pornography in much less than 6 years.
- Help end the destruction of life.
- Please help repeal, or change all the problems wit...
- Please help end the flow of taxpayers' dollars to ...
- Please pray for the persecuted church.
- Please pray for peace throughout the world. Pleas...
- Please pray for our leaders and the leaders of the...
- Don't forget to ask for wisdom.
- Love deeply.
- Let love be sincere.
- Love never fails.
- Love does not delight in evil. Love rejoices in t...
- Love does not keep records of wromgs.
- Love is not rude. Love is not easily angered.
- Love does not envy. Love does not boast.
- GOD is good. GOD is good all the time.
- GOD is love. GOD is LOVE.
- Our outstanding Father is wonderful, faithful, per...
- Our amazing Creator is awesome, marvelous, incredi...
- Our Creator is Holy, Just, Almighty!
- Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which...
- Greetings in the glorious name of JESUS - the name...
- In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the ea...
- In hope, peace, and love . . . .
-
▼
September
(320)
No comments:
Post a Comment