New Ways Ministry and U.S. Catholics Rejoice at Supreme Court Marriage Equality Decision
The following is a statement of Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry’s Executive Director, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to enable marriage equality to be enacted throughout the nation.
New Ways Ministry rejoices with millions of U.S. Catholics that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided in favor of marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples! On this historic day, we pray in thanksgiving that justice and mercy have prevailed and that the prayers and efforts of so many have combined to move our nation one step closer to fairness and equality for all.
With this Supreme Court victory, Catholics recommit themselves to working to make sure that all LGBT people are treated equally in both church and society. While we are delighted with this victory, there is still much work to be done to ensure those goals.
Catholics have been at the forefront of working for equal marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples. The overwhelming majority of U.S. Catholics have consistently been in favor of marriage equality, and have put their support into action in legislative, judicial, and electoral campaigns.
Their Catholic faith has inspired them to make sure that their lesbian and gay family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers receive equal treatment by society. The Supreme Court’s decision embodies the Catholic values of human dignity, respect for differences, and the strengthening of families.
While the U.S. Catholic bishops have consistently opposed marriage equality measures on all fronts, Catholic people in the pews have had a different perspective from their leaders. The lived faith of Catholic people has taught them that love, commitment, and sacrifice are the essential building blocks of marriage and family. Their daily experiences interacting with lesbian and gay couples and their families has taught them that these relationships are identical to heterosexual marriages in terms of the essential qualities needed to build a future together, establish a family, and contribute to social stability and growth.
The U.S. bishops now need to reconcile themselves to the new social reality of marriage equality, as it is poised to spread to all 50 states. They can do so by entering into a dialogue with lesbian and gay Catholics to learn more about the reality of their lives and how their faith inspires their relationships. The bishops should declare a moratorium on firing lesbian and gay church employees who have married legally. These firings have been a scandalous trend with effects that are harmful not only to the people involved, but to the life of the Church.
Today begins a time for Catholic supporters and Catholic opponents of marriage equality to reconcile with one another and work to build up their local faith communities so that together they can work for a world Pope Francis envisions: one of justice and mercy.
–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
“Rejoice and be Glad…” “This is the Day that the Lord has made…” A beautiful and powerful statement by Francis DeBernardo! THANK YOU for these words of Hope and Faith!
God bless America and God bless all who have worked so hard, for so long, with such dedication in spite of heart-breaking setbacks. Frank, Sister Jeanning and Father Nugent……….I know he is listening………I am so grateful for all that you have done and continue to do. Joy and gentle blessings…….. Paula
Reblogged this on Queering the Church.
We all have reasons to celebrate. Once again, LOVE WINS AND FAMILY WINS.
GOD IS GOOD…all the time!!!
A great, fair and just decision. We have been blessings gay couples unions for years. Now we can do so legally too! I rejoice together our gay sisters and brothers.
It is necessary for the Church to now openly welcome us – even those of us civilly married! Let us work, let us volunteer, let us be parishioners!
I am so thrilled with this decision from the Supreme Court! Love Wins! I would love it if you would provide a letter that we could share with our pastors of our parishes, that says the things you wrote about today. I am a parishioner at an extremely conservative Catholic Parish in Wheaton, IL, and I would love to be an ambassador for LGBT Catholics within our church!! We need to flood our parishes with our desire to begin a dialogue of change! And I think it carries a great deal of weight when it comes from straight allies, such as myself.
As an ordained member of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, I wholeheartedly embrace my lesbian and gay sisters and brothers in rejoicing over this victory for marriage equality! I would be honored to preside at the sacramental marriages of all who have been denied this fundamental right and blessing.
Reblogged this on Habari Gani, America!.
yes equal but the church will not marry Gay people not happening women still can not be priest really get with the program
Now that equal marriage is the law of the land in the U.S., one wonders if an LGBT couple applies to be married in a Catholic Church and is refused will that church or its diocese be denied permission to marry anyone or will its marriage ceremonies between heterosexuals be considered to be a religious ceremony only with no legal standing. I support either option or some other equally decisive outcome.
Excellent and incisive questions, Peter! A huge remaining bafflement, at least to me, is how Kennedy and Scalia — both practicing Catholics, as far as I know — could be so divergent on the nature, value and inherent goodness of legally bonded marriage relationships. The vehemence and blistering sarcasm of Scalia’s dissent from the majority opinion is totally “over the top” — and I can’t imagine that Pope Francis himself would in any way support this sort of hateful rhetoric. I’ve never figured out what makes Scalia so genuinely vicious — while he simultaneously claims to be so deeply religious. (One of his own sons is, in fact, a conservative Catholic priest.) The floor is open for any plausible explanations!
This is wonderful news. It is interesting to watch many individuals, groups, companies and organisations line up on either side of this. On the anti-gay side are some that are seriously unpleasant, with lengthy records of hate-filled rhetoric and actions. Am I alone in feeling a deep embarrassment that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops sits so comfortably on this side? Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, president of the Conference said: “Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.”
I wish some of them would look around at the company they keep – and perhaps they might re-consider their location?
Archbishop Kurtz is completely missing the point — or else he is just deliberately and maliciously distorting the point. The Supreme Court’s ruling applies only to the right of CIVIL MARRIAGE as a legal contract. The ruling has NO impact whatsoever upon sacramental marriage as a religious ceremony. No member of the clergy will EVER be required to perform a marriage ceremony which violates his or her denominational tenets and beliefs. But neither does any member of the clergy have the authority to try to impose his or her denominational tenets and beliefs upon an entire diverse civil population. The Separation of Church and State exists for a very good reason. And it’s both outrageous and dishonest for religious leaders — like Kurtz — to try to ignore, bury or paper over such a crucial stipulation. You’d think this fact would be obvious to anyone with a functioning brain. But apparently not. Go figure.
ARound my circle of Catholics, I’m not aware of any that consider this ruling tone positive. Just saying. We can love and accept homosexuality, the point marriage is between man and woman. Man with man, woman with woman, civil contract afforde the right of married couple is acceptable. We now have a case where 2 women “married ” and now getting divorce after 3years. But only one parent listed on birth certificate, and because no Dina match to other woman. No visitation according to the law. We should not be passing laws until we think them through fully. Like open bathrooms.