Keep Calm and Catholic On

There will be lots of heat burning up the interwebz regarding today’s SCOTUS decisions in Windsor and Perry. Knowing that Supreme Court decisions are never what their most avid proponents or their most ardent opponents think they are, I’m waiting till the dust settles and looking for sources of light—calm, reasoned reflection—in the meantime.

The Catholic Telegraph of the Cincinnati Archdiocese is in early with clarity and hope.

Neither decision will have the effect of requiring states to honor same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, but the DOMA case likely will affect how the federal government must treat same-sex marriages for purposes ranging from Social Security benefits to taxation.

Dan Andriacco, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, told The Catholic Telegraph that the decisions are not what the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and U.S. bishops hoped to see.

“Obviously we in the archdiocese and the bishops of the United States were hoping both cases would go the other way,” Andriacco said. “At this point however, it appears nothing in today’s actions nullifies the actions of Ohio and a number of other states in preserving traditional marriage. That is a very positive aspect of today’s developments. We’d really have to study the decisions further to understand the full implications but that’s the initial appearance of what happened today.”

SCOTUSblog will have analysis of today’s opinions from Dr Helen Alvare and other legal scholars later today.

Meanwhile, the day goes on. Defense of Marriage Act or not, nothing exempts or prohibits us from acting on our call to defend marriage, family, and the dignity of every human person, with charity and light. The Holy Spirit shows us the way. Be not afraid.