Catholics should not support gay marriage, says Newark archbishop
Catholics should consider a political candidate's position on same-sex marriage and abortion, Newark, NJ archbishop says in pastoral letter. The faithful who support gay marriage should refrain from receiving communion, says Archbishop John Myers.
Catholics should not support gay marriage, says Newark archbishop
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
Catholics who support same-sex marriage should refrain from receiving Holy Communion and also must consider a candidate’s position on abortion when deciding how to vote, Newark Archbishop John Myers says in a pastoral letter to 1.3 million Catholics in northern New Jersey.
The archbishop says he wants to clarify church teachings, and urges Catholics to vote “in defense of marriage and life.” Catholics who disagree with the church’s official stand against same-sex civil marriage should not receive Communion, he says, while describing opposition to it as important to maintaining religious freedom.
Myers says his statement is not intended to side with either political party six weeks from the national election, but it lines up with the positions of Republican nominee Mitt Romney. President Obama has endorsed gay marriage, and supports abortion rights.
“We live in a time when Catholics are walking away from the faith in record numbers. Archbishop Myers’ tone-deaf pastoral letter on marriage might explain why,” said James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, a liberal group that believes the church should focus more on its traditional social-justice mission. “When so many families live paycheck to paycheck, pew-sitting Catholics like myself want our faith known for its service to the poor, not for the far-right politics of the bishops.”
A recent Pew Research Center poll found that percent of U.S. Catholics support legalized same-sex marriage; that number rises to 72 percent among Catholics between the ages of 18 to 34.
Time to yank the tax free status from the Newark catholic churches. He is clearly telling people how to vote.— clarktacular- You can vote for same sex marriage all you want to but if you look closely, Nothing can come from it that benefits Society. Especially there are no children coming from same sex marriage.— rduexpress
- This christ guy never said one word about gay marriage. He DID say "My kingdom is not of this earth" (apparently the catholics' is). He DID say "Give unto Caesar" (time to tax this pedophile protecting mafia organization), he DID say the whole "camel/eye of a needle-rich man/heaven" thing - which apparently only applied to those in this guy's time based on the way "catholics" hoard gold and cash. Why anyone listens to these creeps is beyond me. Are people so childish, so afraid of mortality they'll believe anything? Guess so - go in a closet and confess to a child rapist. Nice religion, you got there.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatusTheSecond
- It's good to see that the church is keeping up with the times.— Phila26
- "nothing can come of it that benefit's society". yeah, those loving gay couples that adopt and provide loving homes to kids abandoned by scum bag heterosexuals who breed like farm animals provide no benefit. Stable marriages are no benefit - society is much better off with heterosexual couples marrying then f----g everything that moves other than their spouse - then getting divorced. And doing it over. Yes, society is MUCH better served with people like that.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatusTheSecond
- Hey Padre I will vote the way I feel that morning. I will also receive communion that afternoon. You can vote for whoever you wish.— Kerz
- If Catholics voted to "defend marriage and life" then 100% of them would vote to defend the right of every citizen to marry the person they love, and to create a loving family life with them, either as a couple or as a couple with children.
Myers is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of touch with reality. For example, a report from the Guttmacher Institute, the nonprofit sexual health research organization, shows that only 2 percent of Catholic women, even those who regularly attend church, rely on natural family planning. Then consider all the Catholic men who violate church teaching by having a vasectomy and those who use condoms.
Same sex marriage will soon be the law of the land, and the church will be able to continue to discriminate...and continue to drive people away.— BlueStapler - As a Catholic, I would like to tell this Archbishop to worry about his own "house" before making a stupid and ill-informed statement like this. He can express his personal feelings but to tell his flock how to vote and to suggest they should not avail themselves of the Sacrament is outrageous. Did he tell them to consider a candidate's position on the death penalty also? The great hypocrisy is to be a supporter of all life, but to support the death penalty, as many abortion critics do.— lport
- The statistical problem is that almost all democrats support abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. Some republicans also support these issues. The door to the Catholic Church swings both ways. If you don't agree with their Theology, you can find a church that matches your needs down almost any street. The issue is not the political party; the issue is that the Catholic church has always condemned abortion, euthanasia and homosexual acts. The Vatican is right where this bishop is and has been for over a 1000 years. How any "Catholic" can attempt to argue the death penalty and just war as a rationale is beyond me. Catholicism has always condemned abortion as an intrinsic evil. The bishop is expounding on established Catholic teaching not on the democratic party.— irishsmile
- Once again, the RC church wants to eliminate the religious freedom of religions which support same sex marriage. In this country we don't usually let one religion stand above others. It's time people told the Archbishop that his un-American stance is not appreciated here.— MickeyC
- As a voting catholic I'll totally ignore this bishop and any other bishop who tells me in coded language how to cast my vote. They may be the teachers in the church, but too often in the past they've had to apologize for past errors.— CommonSense in Philly
- My fiancé (who under current Arizona law can never marry me) is a foreign national who is in the U.S. legally. His visa is due to expire, and he is not willing to violate U.S. law and remain in this country illegally. He works for his government and because he cannot work in the U.S. outside of his diplomatic visa, he was forced to relocate to another state, and chose to accept the reassignment so we could be close enough to visit one another. Even if we were to wed in a state where it is perfectly legal, he would not be able to enjoy the same marriage privileges of a heterosexual married couple. When his employment ends he will have to leave and probably not be able to return to the U.S. This is because we are denied federal recognition of ANY rights based on our relationship as a same sex couple. This is unfair and wrong. If you want to help fight this, go to the Human Rights Campaign website (www.hrc.org). We need all of the voices we can get before I lose him to these ignorant laws. I have also written about this on my blog, www.lavidadealainlouis.blogspot.com.— aslewis2
- I don't care about recieving communion but do the pervert priest recieve communion since they had same sex relations.— angrywhtguy
- I don't care about recieving communion but do the pervert priest recieve communion since they had same sex relations.— angrywhtguy
- @rduexpress: Your argument is ridiculous. Marriage equality is important because it's another step towards treating ALL Americans equally. By your methodology, there are a lot of heterosexual marriages that are invalid because they don't have children. By treating all Americans equally, society benefits.
If the good Archbishop wants to preach politics, then he should be paying taxes. This is the 21st Century. The Catholic Church has a scintilla of power than it did in the past.
@aslewis2: You're a great example of why we need marriage equality. I'm sorry to hear this and I hope it works out for you.— PotteryPete
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
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