A pair of leading U.S. bishops have voiced their support for the legal protection of those who support traditional marriage. A joint statement from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, urged support for those championing marriage between a man and a woman.
A new piece of legislation, the First Amendment Defense Act, was recently introduced into the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The influential bishops noted that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops “has been vocal in support of the legislation since its inception,” as reported by the Catholic Herald.
Bishops Kurtz and Conley noted that the legislation is “a modest and important measure that protects the rights of faith-based organizations and people of all faiths and of no faith who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” adding that those in support of traditional marriage are “increasingly having their religious freedoms jeopardized and even forfeited.”
“In a pluralistic society,” the Bishops added, “faith-based charitable agencies and schools should not be excluded from participation in public life by loss of licenses, accreditation or tax-exempt status because they hold reasonable views on marriage that differ from the federal government’s view.”
Back in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court endowed same-sex couples with the right to marry in all 50 states. Despite this controversial ruling, the Bishops insisted that the Catholic Church’s leadership will hold fast to protecting and promoting the “natural truth of marriage as foundational to the common good.”
“The church will also continue to stand for the ability of all to exercise their religious beliefs and moral convictions in public life without fear of government discrimination,” they added.
As believers continue to come under fire for their support of the sanctity of traditional marriage, the bishops argue that legal protection is more essential than ever.
“In a climate of increasing intolerance, these protections are urgently needed,” Archbishop Kurtz and Bishop Conley said.
“The teaching of the Catholic Church about marriage is based on both faith and reason,” they concluded. “Using right reason, one can know that given the nature of the human person, created as male and female, marriage is the union of one man and one woman.”
(H/T: Catholic Herald)