{"id":2583,"date":"2013-03-12T19:06:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T19:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/denver-archbishop-laments-passage-of-civil-unions-bill\/"},"modified":"2013-03-12T19:06:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T19:06:00","slug":"denver-archbishop-laments-passage-of-civil-unions-bill-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/03\/denver-archbishop-laments-passage-of-civil-unions-bill-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver archbishop laments passage of civil unions bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Denver, Colo., Mar 12, 2013 \/ 01:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver called the Colorado legislature's passage of a civil unions bill a \u201cregrettable move\u201d harming families, children, and religious freedom.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cToday our state and federal Constitutions have been dealt a troubling blow,\u201d he said March 12.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMarriage is a stabilizing institution at the foundation of civil society. Religious liberty is a civil rights issue. Today both have been grievously harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Colorado House approved the bill which would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions by a 39-26 vote in which the Democrats were joined by two Republicans to support the bill.<\/p>\n

\tThe bill had previously been approved by the state Senate, and now heads to the desk of Democratic governor John Hickenlooper. He has said he plans to sign it into law, and the ceremony is expected to take place this month.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Aquila called the bill \u201cthe beginning of an effort to redefine the family in Colorado and to undermine the right of all children to have a mother and a father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cCivil unions are not about equality, tolerance or fairness. They create an alternate reality in which all institutions can be self-defined. Make no mistake: Civil unions are the first step to redefining marriage and to radically redefining the concept of civil rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said that civil rights, properly understood, are matters of \u201cprotecting individuals and institutions from tyranny or oppression,\u201d rather than \u201cproviding legal endorsement to all conceivable social arrangements and constructs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop said that while the Church recognizes and affirms the dignity of every human person, it does not follow from this that all relationships are equal.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMarriage is a unique social relationship between a man and a woman which exists for the good of children and as the foundation of all human communities. Marriage has been uniquely protected in law for millennia in order to preserve and promote the foundations of all social stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said the bill is \u201cparticularly troubling\u201d because it fails to include a religious liberty provision which would ensure that adoption agencies would not be required to place children with same-sex or unmarried couples.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe ability for religious-based institutions to provide foster care and adoption services for Colorado\u2019s children is now dangerously imperiled,\u201d noted Archbishop Aquila.<\/p>\n

\tRepublican efforts to include religious liberty exemptions were defeated, and the bill's senate sponsor, Pat Steadman, said his response to those concerned for religious freedom was, \u201cGet thee to a nunnery and live there then. Go live a monastic life away from modern society, away from the people you can\u2019t see as equal to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop called these comments \u201cwoefully antagonistic to Catholics, to Christians and to all people of faith and good will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe previous year's version of the bill had included a provision for religious liberty, but was defeated by the then-Republican controlled legislature.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Aquila said that \u201cmarriage is a stabilizing institution at the foundation of civil society. Religious liberty is a civil rights issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cToday both have been grievously harmed,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

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

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

Denver, Colo., Mar 12, 2013 \/ 01:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver called the Colorado legislature's passage of a civil unions bill a “regrettable move” harming families, children, and religious freedom.<\/p>\n

\t&ldq…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nDenver archbishop laments passage of civil unions bill<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denver, Colo., Mar 12, 2013 \/ 01:06 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver called the Colorado legislature's passage of a civil unions bill a “regrettable move” harming families, children, and religious freedom. &ldq...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/03\/denver-archbishop-laments-passage-of-civil-unions-bill-2\/\" \/>\n<meta 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