Bishops endorse amendment

National Catholic Reporter, Sept 18, 1998

The Catholic bishops of Alaska have urged their people to approve a state constitutional amendment declaring that a valid marriage "may exist only between one man and one woman."

The-amendment, slated to appear on this November's ballot as Proposition 2, was prompted by an Alaskan judge's ruling last February that the state's law banning same-sex marriages violated fundamental human rights.

In a joint pastoral letter mailed to every Catholic in the state, the bishops urged voters to turn out in force to reaffirm the traditional definition of marriage as legally binding in Alaska.

They said last February's decision by Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski "opens the door to change the nature of marriage. It dismisses male and female sexuality as integral to marriage. It eliminates the unique intimacy of a man and a woman that is achieved in no other setting. It discards Consideration of the procreation of children. It changes also the meaning of family."

Archbishop Francis T. Hurley of Anchorage and Bishops Michael J. Kaniecki of Fairbanks and Michael W. Warfel of Juneau signed the Sept. 8 pastoral, titled "Marriage: One Man and One Woman."

The bishops concluded their pastoral letter with an appeal to Alaskans to approach the debate over Proposition 2 with civility, respect and charity and to uphold "the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons."

They acknowledged that "some homosexual people are seeking and claiming as a right the approval and benefits that government now gives to married couples."

"We are not persuaded of the validity of that claim," they said, "because homosexual people do not bring to marriage what marriage of its nature requires. We suggest that their requests be presented in a different arena than marriage and that the balance of individual rights and the common good of society be evaluated in a public process much broader than what is available through the court."