Is the Catholic church even trying to make sense on marriage equality?

[DonViejo]

A tough-talking letter to American Catholics on gay marriage reveals a shocking new level of ignorance

BY MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

It must be so frustrating to be a Catholic bishop right now. Gosh, what must it feel like, to be part of a group that’s struggling to be taken seriously, and whose wishes are increasingly ignored? Tough break, guys. In the wake of Delaware’s historic decision earlier this week and as Minnesota now moves toward potentially becoming the 12th state to approve marriage equality, the Catholic Church is sending out the alarm to its American flock, with a new message on “Marriage and the Supreme Court.” Predictably, it’s quite a corker.

The new letter from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will be distributed in church newsletters throughout May and June. In it, the bishops unsurprisingly state their support for the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, and call Catholics “to prayer, penance and sacrifice for the sake of renewing a culture of life, marriage and religious liberty.”

In the letter, an organization comprised of nearly 500 unwed, celibate men goes to explain that “Marriage is the permanent and exclusive union of one man and one woman, for the good of the spouses and for the procreation and education of children. One man, one woman—for life.”

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.

Full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/09/is_the_catholic_church_even_trying_to_make_sense_on_marriage_equality/

[RoBear]

1. Thank you...

I've been trying to ask the "biblical marriage" people for some time now: TO WHICH "BIBLICAL" MARRIAGE are you referring? I then proceed to tell them that I'm waiting for one of them to have a "biblical marriage" like Solomon--all those wives and concubines!

[okasha]

6. What nobody mentions is that Solomon died of exhaustion.. ..

nt

[SwissTony]

12. but happy??? n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Catholic doctrine, and the hierarchy, doesn't try to make sense on a wide variety of subjects

That's sort of the point - to have some arbitrary rules or beliefs, that don't make sense. That way, you know the members are really making an effort to obey.

[cleanhippie]

3. Is the Catholic Church even trying to make sense at all?

Nope.

[silverweb]

4. No.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]The Catholic Church has many, many centuries of "infallible," made-up, authoritarian, dogmatic orthodoxy to enforce. That's all the institutional Church really knows.

[rug]

5. That's about right.

The statements from the USCCB have been virtually devoid of any commentary on civil marriage compared to sacramental marriage. They have tried a clumsy political gamble, having nothing to do with episcopacy, and have lost.

[struggle4progress]

7. The official Catholic doctrine about sexuality is based on their views of "natural law"

The thinking appears to begin from the premise that sexuality serves the biological purpose of reproduction, and so the official Catholic doctrine teaches that sexuality is only proper when it could produce children. Since humans have large heads, childbirth is relatively hazardous for human females; and human offspring have a rather extended period of dependency, before they themselves become adult. One solution to these problems is extended bonding of the genetic parents, which may provide the mother with support during pregnancy and childbirth and also after, and may provide the children some safety net should a parent be lost. This in turn leads to the official Catholic doctrine that sexuality, since it could produce children, is appropriate only in the context of a committed relationship between the sexual partners, and marriage is regarded as the token of this relationship

One might arrive at an entirely similar theory of rational sexuality that was rooted entirely in biology and evolutionary theory, though I suspect closer examination could nuance the discussion. Human sexuality, unlike that of many animals, is not limited to annual rutting season, and human female receptivity is not limited to times of peak fertility. Viewed in biological and a evolutionary context, these facts suggest human sexuality also serves to develop the interpersonal relationships related to stable pair bonding, so nonreproductive sexuality might often serve reproductive ends

There is, however, a more fundamental Catholic doctrine, which the official Catholic doctrine of sexuality ought to follow from, namely, our duty not to treat others simply as objects for our own gratification but rather to love them. One might imagine Catholic doctrine changing to accept birth control, and one might even imagine it could change to accept sexual relations between committed couples of any sexual orientation, on the theory that whatever fosters loving interpersonal relationships deserves some measure of respect. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine Catholic sexual doctrine changing to accept (say) casual sex with anonymous strangers, since it is difficult to see how that could foster loving interpersonal relationships

[Lordquinton]

10. When you stray into Biology and Evolution

you enter a whole new discussion, evolution not only supports Homosexuality, but even predicts it. This guy can explain it much better than I (note, it's crazy fundies he's debunking)

[struggle4progress]

11. Yes, if you take biology and evolution into account, other issues

beyond simple "Sperm, meet egg. Egg, sperm" are likely to arise

If one is interested in developing a rational approach to human sexual ethics, of course, "What do we find other animals doing?" may not be the most relevant question, though it may provide some suggestions about what other questions we could ask about connections between sexuality and the construction of social relationships, that might be directly relevant to human sexual ethics

[dimbear]

8. "It must be so frustrating to be a Catholic bishop right now."????

Why? It's a cushy job, there's a recession going on. I don't notice any slots going vacant.

[rug]

9. There's an opening now in Harrisburg.

His funeral was yesterday.