Catholic Photographer: Same Sex Weddings

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StanJonesPhoto

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Hi! I’m a wedding photographer and recently I’ve heard about same sex couples asking to book a wedding with photographers, the photographers have replied saying ‘it conflicts with my religious beliefs’ and then the couple gets offended and tries to sue them, leaving photographers with attorney’s fees of 6-7k.

As a practicing Catholic, would it be advised against or okay to shoot same sex marriages?
 
This is a tough problem. I don’t think I could participate in a same-sex “wedding” like that. But everyone sues for the slightest thing these days. In fact, if some activists got word that you were opposed to photographing same-sex unions, they might try to bait you into refusing them.

Is there a way you can try to avoid having to make the choice? For example, if you got all of your bookings through Catholic Church referrals?
 
I would only do Catholic Church weddings. Even heterosexual marriages outside the Catholic Church can be hit or miss. They could be invalid second marriages, for example.
 
roseofshannon, thank you so much for that link!

Corki, I just recently joined the church this year, so any ‘pull’ I might potentially have in my perish, OR these diocese is a few years in the distance!

Do either of you guys have any suggestions as to how to get my name out there in the Chuch? I’ve been wanting to get involved in church activities as of late but as you might guess, being a full time wedding photographer makes obligations besides 10pm daily mass and Sunday / Holy Day mass quite difficult!
 
whm said:
I would only do Catholic Church weddings. Even heterosexual marriages outside the Catholic Church can be hit or miss. They could be invalid second marriages, for example.
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Very true!
 
your call, your conscience but you are not required to explain to anyone why you don’t take a particular job.
 
As far as I know, we are not allowed to dispense legal advice on the forums. The only advice I can offer is that you consult with a good lawyer and follow HIS advice.
 
StanJonesPhoto said:
roseofshannon, thank you so much for that link!

Corki, I just recently joined the church this year, so any ‘pull’ I might potentially have in my perish, OR these diocese is a few years in the distance!

Do either of you guys have any suggestions as to how to get my name out there in the Chuch? I’ve been wanting to get involved in church activities as of late but as you might guess, being a full time wedding photographer makes obligations besides 10pm daily mass and Sunday / Holy Day mass quite difficult!
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I also like Michelle Arnold’s response (be sure to read the other response she links to, as it gives more detail).

One way to make yourself known is to buy advertizing space in the back of the bulletin for your parish and those in the area you are willing to serve.
 
Moral questions like this interest me. I do not think the answers are so easy.

Take your example. If you are to be consistent in whom you provide services, you would have to make sure that you are not servicing couples in an invalid marriage, I think. If, for example, a baptized Catholic gets married in a non-Catholic ceremony, the same dilemma occurs as with same-sex “marriage,” does it not? Or am I making a faulty comparison?
 
I would consult a moral expert on this, perhaps a priest. It’s not clear to me that providing services in this example is necessarily sinful, just perhaps scandalous. Interesting.
 
This question was asked on a call in radio program on IHR.

The photographer in question knew that he would not provide services and wanted to know how to turn down the service request without it being a lie.
 
Astonishing - as if the couple has a right to your services. If it were something vital, I could understand their claiming a civil rights violation, but at the same time that I don’t like to think of “We don’t serve your kind here” I also think that proprietors should be allowed selectivity of clients regardless of the reason.

That said, while I read Michelle Arnold’s answer, I disagree with her. I don’t think you’re putting yourself in sin by offering services for a gay wedding. You’re not the one pronouncing them married - your photos don’t constitute legal proof and they’re not an essential part of the marriage such that without having photos they wouldn’t be married. Even if you accept that working at a gay wedding is proximity to sin, I don’t think you’ve met the burden of contribution to sin.

I think of it this way - if you work in a mattress store, are you in sin for selling a bed to a cohabitating unmarried couple? If you work in a hotel, do you sin by renting a hotel room to an unmarried couple or to a gay couple?

Lastly, if you choose not to work at gay weddings (or other events that you find morally questionable), I respect you for it and I only ask that you do it carefully. Moral decline is something that must be fought but when the battle arises in these situations it is often well-funded organizations, like the HRC or ACLU, going after individuals like yourself and putting your moral conscience on trial, thus declaring that your disagreement shoudl moot out your ability to earn a living. I’d hate for you to become a casualty here.

If you have a cite in a newspaper I’ll pass it on to a circle of friends in the Presbyterian church who are concerned about having to perform gay marriages under ecclesial and civil laws that are developing here.
 
StanJonesPhoto said:
roseofshannon, thank you so much for that link!

Corki, I just recently joined the church this year, so any ‘pull’ I might potentially have in my perish, OR these diocese is a few years in the distance!

Do either of you guys have any suggestions as to how to get my name out there in the Chuch? I’ve been wanting to get involved in church activities as of late but as you might guess, being a full time wedding photographer makes obligations besides 10pm daily mass and Sunday / Holy Day mass quite difficult!
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Even if you are new, it would be a good time to start building some relationships in the parish. I would start by callling the Church office and finding out if there is someone who is in charge of wedding logistics. She/he probably keeps a list of various professionals to refer to. Another contact would be the organist. You don’t have to have any “pull” so to speak, you’re just trying to get on their lists.

If there are any Catholic shrines near you, they are often popular spots for weddings. The same thing, call and ask who organizes weddings and make friends. 🙂
 
I would consult a lawyer and craft a written policy guide about what kind of services you provide, and what you don’t. Make it a overall policy item that all couples are aware before they contract your services.

That way you are upfront about anything and it’s been cleared through a lawyer up front as well.
 
vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html

Letter To The Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.
All support should be withdrawn from any organizations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely. Such support, or even the semblance of such support, can be gravely misinterpreted.
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But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered.
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When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behaviour to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase.
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I would read this post:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=548327&highlight=same+sex

In reading the accounts of Christians who have landed in trouble for refusing to provide services for same-sex couples, it seems to me that one common denominator in the accounts is that the Christians all seem to have been up-front in their refusal to do so. They will tell the prospective clients that they can’t provide services for them “because I’m Christian” and “because I don’t believe in what you’re doing.” While it is admirable that these Christians are willing to stand up for what they believe, I’m afraid they are acting somewhat naively.

There is absolutely no requirement on the part of a vendor to tell a client why he or she is unable to take that person’s business. All that need be done is to claim that you have a conflicting commitment (which, in fact, you do). You can also limit your risk by focusing your business on event planning rather than on weddings. If you pick up enough business from other kinds of events, you may be able to pass entirely on offering wedding planning as part of your professional services – which might not preclude you from privately offering your time and talent to friends and family as a gift to them and a hobby for you. If someone then says, “I heard about the lovely wedding you planned for a mutual friend and I’d like to hire you to plan my wedding,” you can say, “I’m sorry, but I don’t offer wedding planning on a professional basis.”

It should go without saying that you really should consult with a lawyer to confirm your options in this area.
 
Alix1912 said:
I would consult a lawyer and craft a written policy guide about what kind of services you provide, and what you don’t. Make it a overall policy item that all couples are aware before they contract your services.

That way you are upfront about anything and it’s been cleared through a lawyer up front as well.
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That will make him a lawsuit magnet.

This is definitely an interesting situation with many dimensions to it. The problematic dimension to me is that, if we are to be consistent, we should not service any invalid marriage, and that just does not seem right. It seems excessive.
 
Windfish said:
Moral questions like this interest me. I do not think the answers are so easy.

Take your example. If you are to be consistent in whom you provide services, you would have to make sure that you are not servicing couples in an invalid marriage, I think. If, for example, a baptized Catholic gets married in a non-Catholic ceremony, the same dilemma occurs as with same-sex “marriage,” does it not? Or am I making a faulty comparison?
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The Catholic may have had dispensation from form, so the comparison doesn’t fly. A person hired for a job generally doesn’t have the latitude to verify validity aside from the obvious.
 
SonCatcher said:
The Catholic may have had dispensation from form, so the comparison doesn’t fly. A person hired for a job generally doesn’t have the latitude to verify validity aside from the obvious.
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Good point. The wedding photographer could have moral assurance that it is a valid wedding with a heterosexual couple not but not at all with a homosexual one.
 
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