Call to Catholic Action: Defense of Marriage Requires Courage and Perseverance

By Deacon Keith Fournier
9/20/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

To limit marriage to heterosexual couples is not discriminatory now, nor has it ever been.

True marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions. It is a relationship defined by nature itself and protected by the natural law that binds all men and women.

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - Almost weekly there is another assault on marriage. The efforts of an activist wing of the homosexual community, what I call the "homosexual equivalency movement", have reframed the debate and are engaged in a Cultural Revolution. They have been joined by eager collaborators in the Judiciary and elected officials who believe they are some kind of new "liberators" when, in reality, they are injuring the common good.

The leaders of the homosexual equivalency movement insist that homosexual sexual practices are morally equivalent to the sexual expression of marital love between a man and a woman. They further insist that the State make homosexual relationships legally equivalent to marriage. They are dedicated to building a society where the positive law of the Nation forces us all to call to be a marriage what can never be a marriage - or face the police power of the State.

The truth about marriage is not simply a "religious" construct. The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life. Marriage is the foundation for the family which is the privileged place for the formation of virtue and character in children, our future citizens. The family is the first society, first economy, first school, first civilizing and mediating institution and first government.

In his apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Charity, Pope Benedict summarized the duty of the Catholic faithful when confronted with this assault on authentic marriage: "Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself." That means you and me. We must defend marriage and the family!

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church wrote these words in 2003, "The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose.

"No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives."

The loaded language of the homosexual equivalency movement is now used by the main stream media. The verbal engineers of the Cultural Revolution have them to use their Orwellian newspeak. It was a subtle and strategic effort. First came the distinction between so called "traditional' Marriage and all other "marriages".

I warned many with whom I co-labor in this struggle to defend true marriage not to use the term "traditional" as an adjective. There were a number of reasons I opined about the dangers of this propaganda ploy. All have proven to be correct. First, the phrase "traditional marriage" sounds like those who defend true marriage want to turn the clock back and live in the past. It paints us as opposed to progress.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that those who seek to redefine the word marriage and then destroy the institution which is the cornerstone of civil society are simply involved - knowingly or unwittingly - in a return to a pagan practice and are unleashing anarchy in the social order.

Next, I warned against ever using the word "marriage" when referring to homosexual (or "gay") partnerships. This warning did not come from some personal hostility toward persons with same sex attraction but out of a desire for verbal integrity. Homosexual relationships simply cannot constitute a marriage.

As a lawyer and activist of many years I know that in the battle to change culture, the softening of the language is the most effective early action before a wholesale assault is waged in the courtrooms, the legislatures and the media. I also know that such language softens and eventually destroys the vigilance of those who are caught unaware of its ruthless and corrosive effect on the long term struggle.

Finally, I warned of the use of "rights" and "freedom" language. I know that this vocabulary is the greatest weapon in this new Cultural Revolution. When the effort to legalize the killing of innocent children in the first home of the whole human race, their mothers womb, was couched in the language of "privacy", "choice" and "freedom" the effort advanced and the infamy was accomplished. Every procured abortion is the taking of an ...

1 | 2 Next Page

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 10 of 26 Comments

JeanCatherine
1 year ago
HF

Yes we will all be judge accordingly of course by our faith in whatever it pertains to when the second coming is here.

Places of Interest: Bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church and USCCB, Encyclicals and other documents on the Pastoral Care of Same Sex Unions.

The church is worried about everyone's soul regardless of what they believe. Thats why the call Baptism by Desire for those who are not in the Catholic Faith. In other words those who do believe in what Christ does but are not in His church.

Also I recommend a sight Jean'sBistro2010's search out on this sight for Same Sex information.

Also Courage Apostolate.
johnvikal
1 year ago
@ HF Welcome to the faith. I am a convert, also (2002). Marriage in the Church is not just a piece of paper. It is an efficacious (outward) sign of grace that God gives us. A marriage certificate says that we are entering a contract. Our act of matrimony says that we are entering a covenant with God. During the Sacrament of Marriage, we are exchanging ourselves. In the contract of marriage, we entering in an agreement of received services or goods (aka financially tied together). My husband and I were married at the City Hall in 2004. The officiant was the mayor. She made the vows official with the government. When my husband converted in 2010, our marriage was convalidated by the priest. We have made the Sacrament in the Church, with the priest officiating the covenant (our rings are now sacramentals, which I think is an added bonus). In regards to your parents who “refuse to come into (H)is covenant family”, there are two things you can do: speak the truth (about marriage) when the subject is brought up and pray. Free will can be a pain.

To answer your other question, I don’t think the secular government’s goal is to bring anyone to faith. The federal government recognizes marriage between a man and woman because what comes out the conjugal act? Children. It is physically impossible for a man and a man (a penis and a penis), a woman and a woman (a vagina and a vagina) to create life. Therefore, the idea is to protect opposite-sex marriage so that children can increase population and create more production and economy.
Theresa H
1 year ago
First of all, it appears that there is a new "Theresa" commenting—which is a bit disconcerting--such that I will add an “H” after my middle name that I have been going by on Catholic Online for some time. Hopefully, this (along with my undisclosed e-mail address) will be sufficiently distinguishable.... I would like to say that when we talk about "nature" and "marriage" it should be clear that the homosexual "lifestyle" is not "natural." I say that because in the "natural” way, a homosexual act cannot bring about the conception of a child. The only natural way a child can be conceived is between the union of a man and a woman. And "marriage" is the name given to that "state" (which has also been encoded in civil law) by which "the two become one" and beget a child. (That is why it has also long been called: "the marriage act.") I would add that the USCCB has warned us not to accept the adoption of traditional words (like “marriage”) to express a different /contrary meaning in an excellent Statement (Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics [Sixth Printing Sept. 2004]). .
Damon Wildeve
1 year ago
Focus your time, energy and money toward helping the elderly, orphans, the poor, hungry and sick. On helping others, loving your neighbor and thanking God for your life while defending the sanctity all human life. When there is no more need for the above you can focus your efforts toward judging and stopping other consenting adults from making their own decisions.
HF
1 year ago
I have an honest question and I think about this a lot, as a recent convert and someone who believes in individual liberty. What is the difference between two atheists or agnostics such as my parents getting married in a civil service and two likewise absent faith homosexuals getting "married". In neither senerio do either couple recognize God nor a covenant with God. This is why Catholics must get married in the Catholic Church and say Catholic vows, marriage inside the church is a sacrament, a binding covenant. But the marriage of my parents is not. Basically what I'm saying/asking is how does through defining non-sacramental civil marriages in a secular government help anybody come to faith? Two people can get married at the courthouse and reject God completely regardless of their orientation. Won't God look upon both my parents who refuse to come into his covenant family the same way as he would look upon two homosexuals who refuse to do the same? For the record, I am not a supporter of same-sex marriage, but I question things like this because some people put this on the top of their list of worries over far worse things that are happening in our country that actually kill and harm people, to where people will support a candidate who wants to define secular "marriage" but who strongly supports the death penalty or loves starting wars or promotes sanctions on countries that have lead to the deaths of thousands.
Alessandra
1 year ago
I am happy to have found a Catholic site that is not a sham!

My recent experience at a sham of "Catholic" site called "First Things/First Thoughts," run by a liberal editor (Joe Carter) who censors conservative viewpoints in discussions about marriage and homosexuality in the most unethical way, only goes to show that there are plenty of "Catholics" who are more liberal and more against Catholic teaching than Unitarians.

And at First Things/First thoughts, they hate freedom of opinion for conservative viewpoints, so posts that question their liberalism on homosexuality and marriage are censored.

It's interesting that Joseph R Yungk, who posts miles of comments on FT, shies away from debating any point here, where underhanded censorship is not the norm. Like a typical liberal, maybe he can only "debate" an opponent if the latter is not allowed to speak?

http://socimages.blogsome.com/2011/09/21/joe-carters-lack-of-ethics-regarding-censorship-on-first-thingsfirst-thoughts/
Theresa
1 year ago
Thanks, Deacon Keith, for the excellent article! No doubt about it, "marriage" in the minds of people all through all the centuries up to our time has been regarded by most every known society as being between one man and one woman. In fact, we know it has been that way "since the beginning" as said in the Bible. Even the "natural law" tells us this--no one can deny this "fact of life!" It grieves me much to see how poor the catechesis is at the "grass roots" level in our parishes and dioceses. Is it any wonder that the number of regular weekly attendees at Sunday Mass has dropped to 25-35% of the "Catholic" population? And that even many of those who do attend on a regular basis can "hardly tell their right hand from, their left....?" The need for adult catechesis, the "New Evangelization" that Pope Benedict XVI has called for is HUGE! He has said (when Cardinal ) that the Church will become very small and will have to start anew, like in the beginning! We also must "watch and pray " that our faith fail not and we not fall into temptation!
John D
1 year ago
Great article. For all those interested here is another series of articles I highly recommend on the subject: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/redefining-marriage-1
mmanske
1 year ago
I am married to a woman and will remain so for the rest of my days, as my faith teaches me. BUT, this does not make me want to force others, through the law, to live as I do. People must be allowed freedom of conscience.
K C Thomas
1 year ago
Congratulations for the excellent article. I would like to ask the protagonists of gay marriage 1 why they do not ask for llegalizing incest
2 why they do not ask for legalizing animal sexual partnership and marriage
3 why they do not ask for legalizing polygamy and polyandry

Only those who do not understand the sacredness of the smallest unit namely "Family" and those who have no experience of family love and discipline can think of devising various means of deriving pleasures detrimental to individuals and society. We can only pray for wisdom to these brethren

Prev12 3 Next

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment