Newsbusters is reporting that in an interview last Thursday, CNN's Kyra Phillips asked Bishop Malone why he didn't just "get on board" and support same-sex marriage because one poll found that 43 percent of American Catholics favor gave marriage.
"So, Bishop, times are changing. Views are changing. You're changing your tactics even," Phillips said. "So, why not get on board with the 43 percent of Catholics?"
"Well their thinking is outside the realm of Catholic teaching for 2,000 years," the Bishop responded.
Phillips asked him why he had decided that the church in Maine would not take an active role in the fight against same-sex marriage, which was passed into law by legislative fiat last year but must now face a referendum at the ballot box in November.
"You're not going to take an active role, from what I see here, in fundraising, staffing, advertising, or campaigning against the gay marriage referendum this time around. Why?" she asked.
Bishop Malone proceeded to set the record straight. " . . . (L)et there be no confusion about the fact that the diocese and I will still be very involved in the effort to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. But we've decided this year that our best efforts can be to put our energies and resources into educating our Catholic community better about the very nature of marriage."
Phillips continued to press him. "And now you're moving toward education and putting funds towards that. Are you softening your stance on same-sex marriage?"
"Not at all," he responded. "It will be even stronger and more vigorous. One of our discoveries in 2009 was that really, many of our Catholic people in Maine could use a bit more profound understanding of how the church has understood marriage for 2,000 years. So, I decided, while we will certainly be in close contact with our allies who will lead the political battle, we intend to focus on the education and formation of consciences of our people."
Thomas Peters of CatholicVote.org wondered if some of Phillips' questions could possibly be serious and if she really expected a Catholic bishop to "just chuck 2,000 years of tradition and the teachings of Christ because a minority of people who claim to be Catholic have abandoned the true meaning of marriage?"
He goes on to wonder when Phillips might ask a pro-abortion faith leader if they’re going to change their views in favor of abortion because a large number of their congregation is pro-life?
" . . . (N)ever, I bet."
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