By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The day after the State of Rhode Island passed a bill allowing civil unions between same-sex couples, Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin warned Catholics that participation in these ceremonies is a “very grave violation of the moral law and, thus, seriously sinful.”
The Catholic News Service (CNS) is reporting that the statement, issued June 30, immediately followed passage of the new law which will give same-sex couples who enter into civil unions the same rights and benefits as marriage in the state of Rhode Island.
Saying that civil unions “promote an unacceptable lifestyle, undermine the faith of the church on holy matrimony, and cause scandal and confusion,” Bishop Tobin said Catholics may not participate in these ceremonies.
“To do so is a very grave violation of the moral law and, thus, seriously sinful,” he said.
Expressing his deep disappointment at the decision, he called the concept of civil unions “a social experiment that promotes an immoral lifestyle, is a mockery of the institution of marriage as designed by God, undermines the well-being of our families, and poses a threat to religious liberty.”
While advising the faithful to treat people with same-sex attraction with love and respect, they must also remember that “homosexual activity is contrary to the natural law and the will of God and, therefore, is objectively sinful. . . . Persons with same-sex attraction are required to live the Christian virtues of chastity and modesty, as all persons are,” he said.
He concluded: “Can there be any doubt that Almighty God will, in his own time and way, pass judgment upon our state, its leaders and citizens, for abandoning his commands and embracing public immorality?”
Even though the bill passed, CNS is reporting that proponents of same-sex marriage are unhappy with its contents. Marriage Equality Rhode Island, along with nine other organizations supporting same-sex marriage, called the legislation “fundamentally flawed” and urged Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) to veto it because it allows religiously affiliated organizations — including hospitals, day care centers, schools or cemeteries — not to recognize same-sex unions.
“The bill put forth by the Legislature would create onerous and discriminatory hurdles for same-sex couples that no other state has ever put in place,” they said. “By allowing individuals and institutions a free-floating license to discriminate against a whole class of people, in defiance of a general law, this bill represents a huge step backward from both Rhode Island’s longstanding nondiscrimination commitments and the balance and language embraced in the law throughout the country.”
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