Catholic bishops hold the line

Christian Century, Nov 29, 2003

AMERICA'S CATHOLIC bishops have moved to tighten adherence to church teaching against contraception and the legal recognition of same-sex unions. Assembled for their annual fall meeting in Washington, the bishops said marriage must be limited to one man and one woman because only heterosexuals can express "the sexual complementarity willed by God for marriage."

"Giving same-sex unions the legal status of marriage would grant official public approval to homosexual activity and would treat it as if it were morally neutral," the bishops said in a seven-page statement opposing gay marriage. It was approved November 12 on a 234-3 vote.

The bishops largely sidestepped questions on whether gay couples should receive legal benefits available to married couples, saying that laws vary by state. They added that "some benefits"--such as property fights and medical decision-making--are already available to gay couples.

The prelates also agreed to craft a new statement that restates church opposition to contraception, which one bishop called a "silent killer" of the past 40 years. Most polls show Catholics use birth control at the same rate as non-Catholics.

Bishop John Nienstedt of New Ulm, Minnesota, urged a "full court press" on both issues in order to remind parishioners what the church teaches. "High school and college-age students have been co-opted by this idea that somehow this is a human right, to express oneself however one feels or desires," he said.

The controversy surrounding the recent consecration of an openly gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire was touched upon. Archbishop Alexander Brunett of Seattle, who cochairs a Catholic-Anglican dialogue, said Bishop V. Gene Robinson poses a "very" serious problem" for church relations--one that he would address at a meeting in Rome on November 24.

In another attempt to clarify church teachings, the assembly approved, 236-6, guidelines on popular devotions such as the rosary and pilgrimages. The 21-page document was drafted in the wake of concern that some parishioners pay more attention to devotions than to mass on Sundays.

A reminder of the clergy sex abuse crisis and its cover-up arose when the bishops were told that an oversight panel will issue major reports in the next three months on the church's response.

The first report by the church's National Review Board, expected January 7, will disclose how many dioceses are in compliance with new rules to protect children from abusive priests, board member William Burleigh said.

A separate study that attempts for the first time to tally the number of accused priests and their victims since 1950--along with a preliminary study on the "causes and context" of the crisis--will be released in Washington on February 27.

"Our concerns are neither national headlines nor personal achievements, but rather the restoration of trust and dignity within the Catholic community here in our nation ... that there will be no more victims," said Anne Burke, the panel's interim chair. Burke said 76 percent of the 195 dioceses had responded to surveys sent by New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, as of nearly two weeks before the November 21 deadline.

Burleigh, former CEO of the E. W. Scripps Company, said the board will continue its "arms-length relationship" with church leaders so that its conclusions will be "accepted by our fellow Catholics ... as fair, objective and untainted."