{"id":1916,"date":"2013-01-03T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-03T11:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/chicago-bishops-gay-marriage-will-have-consequences-for-illinois\/"},"modified":"2013-01-03T11:10:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-03T11:10:00","slug":"chicago-bishops-gay-marriage-will-have-consequences-for-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/01\/chicago-bishops-gay-marriage-will-have-consequences-for-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago bishops: ‘gay marriage’ will have consequences for Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Chicago, Ill., Jan 3, 2013 \/ 04:10 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Cardinal Francis George and the six auxiliary bishops of Chicago have warned that a proposal to recognize \u201cgay marriage\u201d in Illinois is against the common good and will force Illinoisans to \u201cpretend to accept something that is contrary to the common sense of the human race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cCivil laws that establish \u2018same-sex marriage\u2019 create a legal fiction. The state has no power to create something that nature itself tells us is impossible,\u201d the bishops said in a Jan. 1 letter.<\/p>\n

\tCardinal George has sent the letter to every priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago, asking that the letter be distributed in parish bulletins this weekend.<\/p>\n

\tIllinois State Sen. Heather Steans and State Rep. Greg Harris, both Chicago Democrats, have said they will introduce the legislation before the Jan. 9 end of the legislative session. The bill, called
\n\t\u201cThe Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,\u201d would change the definition of marriage under Illinois law from \u201cbetween a man and a woman\u201d to \u201cbetween two persons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tCardinal George, in a Jan. 6 column for the Catholic New World, said the mention of religious freedom in the proposed bill is \u201cironic if not disingenuous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThose who know that marriage is a union between a man and a woman for the sake of family will carry a social opprobrium that will make them unwelcome on most university faculties and on the editorial boards of major newspapers,\u201d the cardinal said. \u201cThey will be excluded from the entertainment industry.\u00a0 Their children and grandchildren will be taught in the government schools that their parents are unenlightened, the equivalent of misguided racists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLaws teach; they express accepted social values and most people go along with societal trends, even when majority opinion espouses immoral causes,\u201d Cardinal George noted.<\/p>\n

\tThe Chicago bishops\u2019 letter denied that \u201cgay marriage\u201d is truly marriage. They said it is \u201cphysically impossible\u201d for two men or two women to consummate a marriage \u201ceven when they share a deep friendship or love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tCardinal George pointed out that the lack of consummation is grounds for annulment under civil law.<\/p>\n

\tThe bishops explained in their letter that this lack of consummation does not mean that nature is unfair or that God is cruel. Rather, it means that marriage is \u201cwhat nature tells us\u201d and that the state \u201ccannot change natural marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Chicago bishops also underscored the complementary nature of the sexes and the way marriage creates \u201cnot only a place of love for two adults but also a home for loving and raising their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tCountering claims that the Catholic Church is \u201canti-gay,\u201d the bishops said that the Church \u201cwelcomes everyone\u201d and gives them \u201cthe spiritual means necessary to convert to God\u2019s ways and maintain friendship with Christ.\u201d They pointed to the Chicago archdiocese\u2019s work through Courage groups and its ministry AGLO.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPeople live out their sexual identity in different ways, but the Church offers the means to live chastely in all circumstances, as the love of God both obliges and makes possible,\u201d the cardinal said.<\/p>\n

\tThe bishops also made a point of saying the Church condemns all violence and hatred towards those with a homosexual orientation.<\/p>\n

\tLooking at the \u201clong term consequences\u201d of redefining marriage, the bishops said that the law will regard those who distinguish between a \u201cgenuine marital union\u201d and same-sex unions as \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d and \u201cthe equivalent of bigots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhen the ways of nature and nature\u2019s God conflict with civil law, society is in danger. It is to that danger that we direct your attention,\u201d they stated.<\/p>\n

\tIllinois\u2019 recognition of non-marital unions has already had consequences for Catholics and others in the state.<\/p>\n

\tIn 2010 the Illinois legislature passed a law recognizing same-sex and opposite-sex civil unions, which was sponsored by Rep. Harris. Although the legislation claimed to protect religious freedom, state officials used the law to end foster care and adoption placement service contracts with Catholic Charities throughout the state because the agencies would not place children with unmarried or homosexual couples.<\/p>\n

\tThe Catholic agencies had helped serve children for decades. The state contracts totaled over $30 million annually and helped care for about 2,000 foster children.<\/p>\n

\tState officials said the agencies\u2019 policy of placing children only with married couples was discriminatory.<\/p>\n

\tThe Chicago bishops\u2019 letter encouraged Illinois residents to visit the Illinois Catholic Conference website at www.ilcatholic.org<\/a> to learn more about the effort to redefine marriage.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago, Ill., Jan 3, 2013 \/ 04:10 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Cardinal Francis George and the six auxiliary bishops of Chicago have warned that a proposal to recognize “gay marriage” in Illinois is against the common good and will force Illinoisa…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nChicago bishops: 'gay marriage' will have consequences for Illinois<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chicago, Ill., Jan 3, 2013 \/ 04:10 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Cardinal Francis George and the six auxiliary bishops of Chicago have warned that a proposal to recognize “gay marriage” in Illinois is against the common good and will force Illinoisa...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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