Va. bishops urge Catholics to vote against gay marriage (ritual, virgin)

[Green Gaia]

Va. bishops urge Catholics to vote against gay marriage

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local...lines-virginia

Diocese of Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde and Diocese of Richmond Bishop Francis DiLorenzo will distribute more than 100,000 brochures through a network of nearly 200 churches outlining their support for proposed changes in the Virginia Constitution that must be ratified by voters in the November election.

To have that kind of money and influence on your side must be nice. How wonderful that they are using it to hurt other people.

At a news conference Tuesday, Loverde said any Catholic who understands the consequences of the referendum and still votes to oppose the amendment would be displeasing God.

"I would have to question how a Catholic could vote against this," [Diocese of Arlington Bishop Paul] Loverde said, saying marriage is an institution of such importance that "it deserves a place in a document as foundational, as fundamental as a state constitution."

Let me tell you why Catholics (and every Virginian) should vote against this amendment.

Laws against same gender marriage are already in Virginian law 3 TIMES! This constitutional amendment would be beating a dead horse, except that the dead horse is other people's lives and families. The second part of the amendment will make it hard to enforce any legal document that same gender couples have obtained, (at a cost of thousands in lawyer fees, to give them just a fraction of the protections that civil marriage gives), if that document is challenged by outside forces (such as disgruntled family members or employers or opportunistic lawyers).

The amendment is written in vague and ambiguous language and that will have serious and largely unknown consequences unrelated to "gay marriage." Among other things, the amendment would permanently bar legislative consideration of civil unions, which are supported by almost 60% of Virginia voters, and prohibit legal recognition of domestic partnerships or any other legal arrangements for unmarried partners. It will also take away from our legislators the authority to define marriage and give that authority to unelected judges.


Virginians may not agree on gay marriage, but this amendment to our bill of rights simply goes too far.


Shame on the Catholic bishops for putting hatred and bigotry above civil rights for others. I hope Catholics will see past that and vote against this horrible amendment that has the potential to destory people's lives.

[Tigress]

I say usurp them of their tax-exempt status, if that's where they're at.

[R34P3R]

Yeah I have yet to be shown how Gay Marriage or just those "Homosex'l's" destroy hetero families...

I don't think the government has any buisness in the bedroom...

[Green Gaia]

Originally Posted by Tigress

I say usurp them of their tax-exempt status, if that's where they're at.

It's perfectly legal. We do the same thing on the other side, trying to educate people about the harmful effects of this amendment. How it will hurt people and our state. We just cannot possibly match the amount of money and influence that the Catholics have. It's very frustrating. They have this power and influence and yet it seems (to me anyway) it is being used in the instance to hurt others. I don't understand that.

[Sunstone]

Of course the bishops are within their rights to speak out on this issue, but I will never understand why homosexuality is a religious issue in the first place. Seems to me it has nothing to do with spirituality.

[MidnightBlue]

On my way to work Monday, I noticed that the "Family Worship Center" (formerly a Pentecostal church; they seem to prefer "worship center" now) has a big sign up urging people to vote against same-sex marriage, too. It really ticked me off.

[MaddLlama]

Originally Posted by MidnightBlue

On my way to work Monday, I noticed that the "Family Worship Center" (formerly a Pentecostal church; they seem to prefer "worship center" now) has a big sign up urging people to vote against same-sex marriage, too. It really ticked me off.

This is totally off the subject, but I recently passed a Pentecostal church that called itself a "Christian Training Center". Gave me the creeps.

[Tigress]

Must be a new Pentecostal thing because our local Pentecostal church recently changed its name to '<insert town here> Community Church.'--Except that we have like ten other churches...lol