U.S. Bishops Launch Bulletin Insert Campaign as Marriage Equality Spreads

This week, Delaware became the eleventh state (plus the District of Columbia) to enact marriage equality, and Minnesota seems poised to become the twelfth state next week.  The Supreme Court justices are deliberating two cases on marriage equality, and their decisions should be announced by the end of June.

In response to all of this news, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced a campaign of prayer, fasting, and sacrifice for Catholics, to encourage Catholics to oppose marriage equality.   They have developed a bulletin insert to be used in May and June across the country, offering ideas and actions for Catholics to enact.

The bulletin insert text describes the campaign:

“For the first time in our nation’s history, the Supreme Court is considering two cases about whether or not marriage should be redefined to include two persons of the same sex. These cases involve the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8, both of which define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

“The Court is expected to rule on both cases by the end of June. A broad negative ruling could redefine marriage in the law throughout the entire country, becoming the “Roe v. Wade” of marriage. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined with many other organizations in urging the Supreme Court to uphold both DOMA and Proposition 8 and thereby to recognize the essential, irreplaceable contribution that husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, make to society, and especially to children.” [emphasis theirs]

The announcement of the campaign has inspired commentary from secular writers.  At ThinkProgress.com, Zack Ford thinks that the comparison to Roe v. Wade is inaccurate:

“This comparison to Roe v. Wade has been made several times in regards to these cases, but it remains unclear what exactly the intention beyond that comparison really is. Though the two have often been juxtaposed in the past as key social issues, they don’t actually compare substantively. Public opinion on marriage has consistently trended toward equality, while public opinion on abortion has remained split. Marriage is something that all people already have access to, but it only serves people who are heterosexual — a very different circumstance from the general question of whether a woman has a right to an abortion at all.”

Ford believes that this comparison is designed to promote future action against marriage equality:

“What this comparison does forebode is future attempts to curb back the rights of same-sex couples after marriage equality is achieved. Just as conservatives have resisted Roe by curbing women’s access to abortion as much as possible — like in North Dakota, Kansas,  andArkansas — they may try to limit same-sex couples’ access to marriage. Certainly, objections about violations of “religious liberty” already speak to this, suggesting future attempts to legalize discrimination against the LGBT community. These efforts seem less likely to succeed, though; so far, California’s Proposition 8 is the only example of a setback for marriage equality after it’s already been in place, and that becomes a moot point should the Court knock it down.”

Paul Constant, on a blog for Seattle’s The Stranger newspaper thinks that Ford is too pessimistic:

“Once the world doesn’t end in states that legalize gay marriage, and once more examples of happily married gay couples are seen in the media, this is going to be a dead issue . . .” [emphasis his]

In a more impatient vein, Mary Elizabeth Williams, writing on Salon.com, gives a brief summary of rebuttals against marriage equality opponents:

“It bears repeating that if the idea of two men or two women pledging themselves to each other in a manner that grants them legal protection and societal validation ticks you off, that’s your thing. But for heaven’s sake, stop pretending that marriage isn’t a man-made institution, one that we humans have defined in different ways throughout the course of history. Stop forgetting that if you’re looking for “traditional” marriages, the Bible itself is chock-full of them — defined by incest, rape and bigamy. Stop conveniently ignoring that the church says that matrimony is for the procreation of children but doesn’t restrict the elderly or infertile from enjoying the benefits of religiously sanctioned unions.”

(For a succinct history of how marriage has changed in church and society, see chapter 8 in New Ways Ministry’s Marriage Equality:  A Positive Catholic Approach.)

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

QUOTE TO NOTE: Proud Latino and Catholic for Marriage Equality

Representative Xavier Becerra

U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra (D-California) was one of 67 congresspeople who in 1996 voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which is now being challenged in the Supreme Court.  He, along with 212 other lawmakers, signed an amicus brief asking the Court to overturn DOMA, according to Politic365.com.

At a rally at the Supreme Court on the day oral arguments were heard in the case, Becerra told the amassed demonstrators:

“It is time for us to have equality. I say this as a proud Latino and Catholic. It is proud to have equality for all and we will have it because time marches forward and so does justice.”

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

QUOTE TO NOTE: What Jesus Said About Condemning Gays

In the context of the Supreme Court’s recent hearing of oral arguments in the two marriage equality cases, James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, a political organization, had this to say:

“Christ did indeed say many things, but let’s face it: not one of them was about condemning gay people. It’s troubling that so many people who claim to follow his word have such difficulty understanding his real message. Christ’s message was to bring good news to the poor, not to ostracize gays, inflame phobias or create division.”

You can read the full article in which this excerpt was quoted in The Vindicator, a newspaper from Liberty County, Texas.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Catholic Activists Helped Bring Marriage Equality Case to the Supreme Court

Thea Spyer and Edie Windsor

Yesterday, Bondings 2.o highlighted the role that Catholics played at the prayer service and public demonstration as the Supreme Court heard two cases involving marriage equality this week.   Today, Jamie Manson, award-winning columnist for The National Catholic Reporter, highlights an important behind-the-scenes story about Catholic involvement in one of those cases–the challenge to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).   The plaintiff in that case is Edie Windsor, who was  married to Thea Spyer,  Toronto, Canada, in 2007.  Their marriage was recognized since 2008 by New York State, where they lived.  Yet, when Spyer passed away, Windsor received  a$363,053 estate tax bill  from the federal government which would not have been sent if the married couple were heterosexual.

What Manson highlights is the work that three Catholic gay activists, who are members of Dignity/New York, did to bring this case to the Supreme Court.  The first is Brendan Fay, who arranged for Windsor and Spyer’s wedding in Toronto.  Manson explains:

Brendan Fay

” ‘Edie called for help. It was urgent,’ Fay says. Windsor’s partner of almost four decades, Thea Spyer, had been battling multiple sclerosis since 1975, and doctors had given her only months to live. Fay reached out to Canadian Judge Harvey Brownstone of the Ontario Court of Justice, who gladly performed the ceremony.

“Fay was part of a small contingent of friends that shepherded Edie and Thea, who was confined to a motorized wheelchair, to a Toronto hotel, where they were married May 22, 2007.

” ‘There was hardly a dry eye as they exchanged words, “With this ring I thee wed … in sickness and in health, till death do us part,’” Fay remembers.”

When Fay learned of Windsor’s estate tax problem, he sought aid from two friends:

Vincent Maniscalco and Edward DeBonis

“After Mass one evening, he enlisted the help of fellow Dignity members Edward DeBonis and Vincent Maniscalco, who have been married since 2002. (Theirs was the first Catholic same-sex wedding announced in The New York Times.) DeBonis, an attorney, immediately thought of [Roberta] Kaplan [the attorney who argued Windsor's case at the Supreme Court yesterday], whom they had watched argue the 2004 marriage suit filed by 13 couples before the New York State Court of Appeals.”Robbie was compelling,” DeBonis recalls, “and she and her partner, Rachel Lavine, have been passionate about the marriage equality issue for many years.”

And Windsor attributes all her celebrity status to Fay:

” ‘Everything that has happened to make me so famous at this moment is caused by Brendan Fay,’ Windsor told the crowd a few weeks ago at a benefit concert for the St. Pat’s For All parade, an event Fay spearheaded in 2000. ‘When I first saw the brief that said Edie Windsor vs. the United States of America, I said, “No, no, blame him, not me!” she laughed.’ “

Bondings 2.o already noted the role Catholics have played in the prayer service and demonstration at the Supreme Court, as well as the fact that six of the nine justices on the Court are Catholic.  Manson’s story highlights yet another important role that Catholics have played in this story.  Fay, DeBonis, and Maniscalco are to be lauded for living their faith so boldly and generously.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Catholics Participate in Prayer Service and Demonstration at Supreme Court

New Ways Ministry staff at the marriage equality demonstration outside the Supreme Court: Sister Jeannine Gramick, Bob Shine, Francis DeBernardo.

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two marriage equality cases.   The historic day began with an interfaith prayer service at the Church of the Reformation, a Lutheran congregation just behind the Supreme Court building.

The service, entitlted “A Prayer for Love and Justice,” featured prayers and rituals from a wide variety of faith traditions–Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, pagan, Native American–were all represented as part of the service.  Catholics were represented by Sister Jeannine Gramick of New Ways Ministry and Rev. Joseph Palacios, who ministers at Dignity/Washington.   The event was organized by the United for Marriage coalition.

Rev. Joseph Palacios

Sister Jeannine Gramick

Following the prayer service, participants processed to the Supreme Court building and joined the demonstration of thousands of people there who support marriage equality.  Among those in the crowd were Jackie and Buzz Baetz, a Catholic couple from Monkton, Maryland, who displayed a sign showing Catholic support for marriage equality.

Jackie and Buzz Baetz proclaim their message of Catholic support for marriage equality outside the Supreme Court.

New Ways Ministry staff also participated in the demonstration outside the court building.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Majorities of US & Canadian Catholics Support Marriage Equality

A new Quinnipiac University poll finds American support for marriage equality growing, especially among Catholics, just as Supreme Court oral arguments around the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 are about to be heard in late March. A separate Canadian survey shows similar results for Catholics in that nation.

Quinnipiac’s survey results indicate that Catholic support is driving the expansion of marriage rights nationwide. 54% of Catholics polled are in support of marriage equality and only 38% in oppose, improved from a 49%-43% split in December 2012. Researcher Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said:

“‘Catholic voters are leading American voters toward support for same-sex marriage…Among all voters, there is almost no gender gap, but a big age gap. Voters 18 to 34 years old support same sex marriage 62 – 30 percent; voters 35 to 54 years old are divided 48 – 45 percent and voters over 55 are opposed 50 – 39 percent.’”

This gap among Catholics mirrors the emerging demographic trends around marriage equality reported on during an analysis of 2012 election exit polling recently released. Three states, Maryland, Washington, and Maine approved marriage equality ballot measures, while Minnesotans defeated a constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man and one woman during the 2012 elections. The Washington Post reports that exit polling showed:

“…resistance to same-sex marriage is shrinking and mainly concentrated among certain segments of the population: older people, white evangelical Christians and non-college-educated whites…

“‘Significant opposition to the freedom to marry is increasingly isolated within narrow demographic groups while a much broader and more diverse majority are ready to let same-sex couples marry,’ wrote Joel Benenson, who led President Obama’s polling operation in 2008 and 2012, and Jan van Lohuizen, who did the same job for former president George W. Bush…

“White evangelical Christians opposed same-sex marriage by nearly 3 to 1. But every non-evangelical group — other white Protestants, white Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, African American non-evangelicals and Jewish voters — expressed support for such unions by double-digit margins.”

Similar polling reveals that Canadian Catholics support marriage equality as well.  The Vancouver Sun reports on a recent University of Lethbridge poll:

“What about homosexuality? The Vatican continues to teach that homosexuality is a sinful ‘disorder.’

“But Canadian Catholics are increasingly accepting. Half approve of ‘same-sex couples marrying.’ An additional one in four Catholics acknowledge they disapprove of homosexual relationships, but “accept” them anyway…

“What of Europe, that other bastion of so-called ‘Western’ values? The rights of women and gays and individual freedom remain paramount throughout most of Europe, including in Italy, Spain and France, where the strong majority continue to say they are Catholic.”

Most interesting in much of the polling for Westernized Catholics is the strong religious identity expressed by those who overwhelmingly support LGBT equality. Previous distinctions on marriage equality between those considered ‘culturally’ Catholic who do not routinely attend Mass and those who attend Mass weekly are disappearing. The Quinnipiac University polling of US Catholics reported 90% of those surveyed consider their Catholic faith either fairly important, or for 57% very important, in their lives.

What do you think? Do an increasing number of Catholics support marriage equality in full harmony with their Catholic faith, not in spite of it, because of a growing understanding that LGBT rights are matters of justice and dignity? Or is it shifting demographics in age and ethnicity of the Church that merely mirror societal trends towards LGBT equality? Perhaps both? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

As Another Federal Appeals Court Decides in Support of Marriage Equality, the Position of Catholic Supreme Court Justice Kennedy Becomes More Pivotal

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Boston, ruled unanimously yesterday that a crucial section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which limits marriage to heterosexual couples, is unconstitutional.  The significance of this decision will not have an immediate impact on gay and lesbian couples, but could pave the way for a Supreme Court decision. (This decision joins an earlier federal court decision supporting marriage equality in California this past year which also makes a Supreme Court review likely) The New York Times reports:

“The decision. . .will have no immediate effect because the court stayed its ruling in anticipation of an appeal to the Supreme Court. Legal experts said the justices could agree as early as this fall to hear the case and arguments could come next spring, making it the first case involving the same-sex marriage law to be decided by the court.

“While the case dealt narrowly with the question of federal benefits for same-sex couples — not with the legality of same-sex marriage itself — many scholars said it was a significant moment in civil rights.

“ ‘It is another illustration of the growing consensus of the judiciary about the unconstitutionality of discriminating against gays and lesbians in the realm of marriage,’ said Geoffrey Stone, a professor of law at the University of Chicago.

“Another case, from California, does test the broader constitutionality of same-sex marriage, and as it has percolated through the courts, some proponents have said they preferred that it be in the vanguard. But others have felt that the incremental approach used in the Massachusetts case — much like the one used by opponents of abortion rights — would be more effective in achieving the movement’s ultimate goals of full equality for gay and lesbian couples.”

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Should the Supreme Court case arise next fall, commentators are already noting that a decision from the highest court in the land could turn on the decision of Justice Anthony Kennedy, a practicing Catholic, who is often the swing vote on the Court.  (Six of the nine sitting Justices are Catholic, by the way.) Earlier this week in a New York Times analysis, Bill Keller discussed the significance of Kennedy’s position:

“I’ve been trying to envision the Kennedy brief in defense of gay marriage.

“There is plenty of Kennedy to cite on the subject. Although he is a devout Catholic, he is the author of the two most important pro-gay-rights decisions handed down by the court. In 1996, in a case called Romer v. Evans, Kennedy wrote an opinion ending Colorado’s attempt to repeal local laws protecting gays against discrimination. There was no plausible explanation for Colorado’s action, he wrote, beyond “animus” — judicial language for plain bigotry. In his 2003 majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, Kennedy and company threw out all remaining state laws against sodomy, saying that how consenting homosexuals express their love is none of the state’s business. (The verdict prompted Justice Antonin Scalia, in an indignant dissent, to warn that Kennedy’s argument “dismantles” any constitutional case against gay marriage.)

Keller offers two reasons for Kennedy’s position on gay issues:

“In contrast to constitutional literalists like Justice Scalia, Kennedy believes the court should track evolving standards in society. The Kennedy brief can argue that the incremental but steady progression of marriage equality laws — and the polls showing accelerating public approval — are evidence that the nation is evolving toward an obvious outcome.

“Moreover, Justice Kennedy, who is widely traveled and cosmopolitan, is more open than the most conservative justices to arguments borrowed from foreign and international courts. He took note of European precedents in the ruling against sodomy laws. So the Kennedy brief on marriage could draw on the experiences of the 10 countries, from Canada to Spain to South Africa, that have legalized gay marriage, and the others (Israel and Mexico for instance) that recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions.”

But Keller also cites the opinion of Yale Law Professor William Eskridge, Jr., as to why Kennedy may not support marriage equality in any upcoming Supreme Court case:

“Eskridge, too, has studied Kennedy, and notes that the justice’s passion for liberty is matched by his fear of getting too far in front of the social consensus. By the time of the Lawrence case, states had either repealed anti-sodomy laws or were not enforcing them. In contrast, most states have constitutional amendments or statutes limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, and many are of recent vintage.

“ ‘Kennedy does not vote in a way that he thinks is going to undermine the legitimacy of the court,’ Eskridge told me. Thus Kennedy has gone out of his way to stress that his earlier decisions did not necessarily lead to marriage equality.

“Eskridge supports gay marriage, agrees that it is inevitable, but believes it would be counterproductive, even dangerous, to force it on a nation that is still evenly and intensely divided. He contends that — like the Roe v. Wade legalization of abortion — a Supreme Court ruling in favor of nationwide gay marriage would inflame hostility, even violence, especially in the Southern states.”

Keller’s conclusion:

“My head tells me that Eskridge is probably right: Kennedy will be inclined to stop short of full equality now. But my heart will be rooting for Boies and Olson [analysts cited in Keller's article who believe that Kennedy will fully support marriage equality]. If that lesbian or gay couple in Mississippi or West Virginia have the courage to ask for a marriage license, I’d like to think the country has the courage to back them up.”

I hope that Keller’s heart is smarter than his head.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

NEWS NOTES: February 21, 2012

Here are links to some items you might find of interest:

1) More evidence that lay Catholics and their bishops differ strongly on support for marriage equality comes from a new poll reported by The New York Times in an article “Support Is Found for Birth Control Coverage and Gay Unions.”  Though the poll surveyed the general electorate, they report findings for different sub-groups, such as Catholics:  “More than two-thirds of Catholic voters supported some sort of legal recognition of gay couples’ relationships: 44 percent favored marriage, and 25 percent preferred civil unions. “

2) In “Spectrum continues quest to abolish stereotypes on campus,” Loyola University Maryland’s student newspaper, The Greyhound, reports on upcoming semester plans for activities by their LGBTA organization.

3) If California’s Proposition 8 case makes it to the nation’s highest court, the “Gay marriage fight may hinge on Supreme Court’s Anthony Kennedy,” a Catholic, reports The Charlotte Observer.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry