By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Meeting in San Antonio, Texas this week for their biannual meeting, U.S. Bishops are planning to launch a series of professionally designed programs to help educate the public on the necessity of maintaining traditional marriage.
According to a report by the National Catholic Reporter, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee in Defense of Marriage, said there are four key points the bishops hope to make in their new campaign:
1. Marriage is inherently related to the sexual difference between men and women.
2. Marriage is ordered to the good of children.
3. Marriage by its nature is restricted to one man and one woman, and saying so is not a matter of unjust discrimination.
4. Legalizing same-sex marriage has consequences for religious freedom, such as the prospect that people opposed in conscience might be compelled into cooperation with it.
Bishop Kurtz said the committee is contracting with professional communications firms to try to package these points successfully, including the production of a series of videos and brochures.
The program will be directed at two key groups: young adults aged 18-29 with a special focus on Latinos; and priests and catechists across the country.
The Knights of Columbus have agreed to fund the effort.
Bishop Kurtz also said that a final draft of a pastoral letter on marriage from the U.S. bishops should be ready for review by the bishops at their November meeting.
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