Vatican theologian slams U.S. court gay ruling

Yoda

Vatican Theologian Slams U.S. Court Gay Ruling
(2003-11-19)

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A top Catholic theologian whose views reflect those of Pope John Paul on Wednesday slammed the approval by a U.S. court of same-sex marriage, saying it sanctioned a "moral disorder against God's creative plan."

"This is a great wound to human dignity that can never be justified," Father Gino Concetti, an expert on Catholic moral theology, told Reuters.

Concetti, who writes for Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and has advised the pope on issues of human sexuality, called the ruling "grave and presumptuous."

The decision could pave the way for the state to become the first in America to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Vatican has not officially reacted to Tuesday's ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, but Concetti's views would be a foretaste of any coming statement.

"This (homosexual activity) is a moral disorder because it contradicts the natural order, which established a union founded on heterosexual relations," he said.

The Vatican condemned same-sex unions as deviant and a threat to society in July, and has twice urged Catholic lawmakers to vote against bills recognizing gay marriages.

In the United States, gay rights activists hailed the court's 4-3 decision as a victory. But some politicians promised to stop gay marriage and some religious groups called the ruling reprehensible.

"This is against the creative plan of God, who made man and woman as two equal but complementary beings not only to love each other but to procreate," Concetti said.

Only one other U.S. state, Vermont, legally recognizes same-sex couples and allows them to enter into "civil unions" -- giving them many of the legal protections of marriage.

With similar cases pending in at least three other states, gay marriage could become a hot topic in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

President Bush has called marriage "a sacred institution between a man and a woman" and pledged "to do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage."

Franco Grillini, a gay Italian parliamentarian, told Reuters he hoped the U.S. ruling would have a ripple effect that would galvanize gay rights movements throughout the world.

"This decision will help everywhere because marriage is the battle cry for many gay rights movements around the world," he said.

Grillini, a member of the largest opposition party, the Democrats of the Left, said gay marriages were a long way off in Italy because of what he called the Vatican's disproportionate influence on domestic politics.

© Copyright 2003, Reuters

For a live radio discussion (16:00 GMT) see The Connection here.

Lukin Black

I didn't think the church recognised civil marriage, so if they do actually call it marriage, are they giving it the same status as marriage celebrated in church by a priest? To be honest though, this is anything but a shock. I don't think there will ever be a day that the church recognises any kind of same-sex relationship as immoral, depraved, etc.

Yoda

On NPR's The Connection radio programme today, someone suggested that much of this discussion is confused by questions of who it is who owns the word marriage and its definition.

Lukin Black

Originally posted by Yoda
On NPR's The Connection radio programme today, someone suggested that much of this discussion is confused by questions of who it is who owns the word marriage and its definition.

Nicely put. I think that's certainly a lot of the issue.

Zillah

"I don't think there will ever be a day that the church recognises any kind of same-sex relationship"

Perhaps there will be a day that there is no church. I can only dream.

Or plant explosives.