We believe… in the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience.
In 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges held that the 14th Amendment require a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex if their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed.
In recent news headlines, the position of the Catholic Church has been bandied about like a volleyball match. Because The Stewardship Foundation holds the position that marriage between a man and a woman to be the most basic institution in society, we thought we’d clarify our position in light of recent news headlines.
As reported in the National Catholic Reporter, more than a dozen U.S. Catholic leaders and organizations kicked off Pride month with “blessing services” in clear support of the LGBTQ community.
In 2016, now President Joe Biden, a Catholic, officiated at the same-sex wedding of two White House staffers, reportedly “going out of his way” to act with contempt for infallible Church teaching in light of Roe v. Wade.
Moral liberalism holds that we have a right to do anything not harmful to others. Was Joe Biden acting morally? Does this action imply giving same sex couples the right to marry?
Pope Francis, or we should say the 2020 movie “Francesco” was not helpful when Francis was portrayed as ignoring the teachings of his predecessor St. John Paul II who said “respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual unions.”
But in reality, Pope Francis was speaking about the right of homosexuals not to be rejected by their own families. He said nothing about homosexuals creating new families of their own through adoption or surrogates.
Catholic doctrine, reflecting natural law, clearly states that homosexual persons should refrain from same-sex activity and relationships that lead to mortal sin.
After so much hoopla in the press, a year later in 2021, Pope Francis approved a message from the Vatican that “the Roman Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages, no matter how stable or positive the couples’ relationships are. To clarify, the Church calls on Catholics to “welcome with respect and sensitivity persons with homosexual inclinations” and does allow giving blessings to homosexual people, but “does not have, and cannot have,” the power to bless same-sex relationships.
The Vatican emphasizes that “God does not and cannot bless sin.”
Only time will tell whether Catholics, having heard conflicting messages, understand and accept Church teaching. In the meantime, we will continue to bless and pray for our brethren with same-sex inclinations and stand firm that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman.