Shouldn't the government stay out of determining what marriage is?

[denver_faithful]

There are five non negotiable catholic voter issues.

1. Homosexual “Marriage”

True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other form of “marriage” undermines true marriage, and legal recognition of homosexual unions actually does homosexual persons a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.

“When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral” (UHP 10).

All of the 5 except number 5, I wholeheartedly agree with. My position on number 5 is that the government should stay totally out of regulating marriage and should leave that decision up to the individual church. Is this contrary to a catholic teaching, because my stance is clearly against same sex marriage since I am catholic.

Please help

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

Well. you and the Voter’s guide agree. The Church does indeed want the government to stay out of changing the definition of marriage. From time immemorial marriage has been understood to be between a man and a woman. The government has no business trying to change this.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.