Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE JANUARY 22, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA The Church needs the feminine genius It seems like a day didn't go by in 2013 when the media wasn't publicizing a quote from Pope Francis or a charitable act of his. But beyond those headlines Pope Francis has already given us much to reflect about, particularly in his call for "a more profound theology of woman." One event that will take place in the archdiocese on Feb. 8 and brings to mind his repeated call for this development is the annual gala for Endow (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women), a ministry whose goal is to promote a new feminism based on the teachings of Pope John Paul II. The work that Endow does to help women discover or deepen their own feminine genius is urgently needed by our culture and our Church. Since its founding in Denver in 2003, the organization has blessed women throughout the United States and beyond with their promotion of the genius of women. The Catholic Church has a long history of women playing vital roles at key moments. There is the example of the Virgin Mary, without whom the Church would not look the same, or St. Catherine of Siena, who helped reform the Church during a period of great turmoil. In more modern times there are saintly women like Blessed Mother Teresa or St. Gianna Beretta Molla who have provided inspiration to the world. We live in a society today that is confused about the contribution women can make to it. The last few decades have brought some changes that are good under the right circumstances, such as an increased participation of women in civil society, academia and the work force. But they have also seen the acceptance of ideas about what it means to be a woman that are a distortion of the true feminine genius. This brand of feminism promotes what Pope Francis called "a kind of 'female machismo,'" and the solutions it offers to increasing the presence of women in the Church make him "wary," he said, "because a woman has a different make-up than a man." Incorporating the unique gifts of women into the Church, the Holy Father said in his Sept. 30, 2013, interview with La Civilta Cattolica magazine, can only be done by developing a "profound theology of the woman." I believe that a good place to start this development is by looking at the examples of Mary, the hundreds of female saints and the women present in each of our lives. One of the greatest God-given gifts women possess is that they orient their lives "for others"—their femininity inclines them to be selfless. This is most evident in the way that they sacrifice themselves to bring new life into the world, and I don't just mean on the physical level. I know many lay women and religious sisters who pour themselves out in love for others, who spend their lives raising spiritual sons and daughters, like the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., who teach the future priests of our archdiocese. Women are also equipped emotionally and psychologically to be close to others, to bring to light those matters of the heart that are truly important. Without these gifts, the world and the Church is poorer, more violent and less beautiful. Finally, a crucial part of the feminine genius is the ability to nurture, develop and grow beauty. Think for a moment about the Blessed Mother, who heard the announcement of the Archangel Gabriel that she would bear Jesus and pondered that reality in her heart as he grew inside of her. Again, when she heard the greeting of her cousin Elizabeth—"Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"—and held it in her heart and trusted in God's plan. The fruit of her trust was the beautiful life of Jesus, the Incarnate Word. She must have recalled these words as she raised Jesus, See Aquila, Page 7 Gay 'marriage' advocates shift debate to tax code BY NISSA LAPOINT A new Senate bill proposing changes to the state tax code to accommodate same-sex couples has revived impassioned debate about the definition of marriage. Senate Bill 19, which proposes substituting the words "husband" and "wife" with "two taxpayers" on state income tax forms, moved swiftly through the state Legislature last week. If passed, the bill would codify and reinforce a recent government ruling that allows same-sex couples legally married out-ofstate to file joint state tax returns in Colorado if they file a joint federal income tax return. This does not apply to same-sex couples who entered a civil union in Colorado. "They're slowly chipping away at marriage and they're using the tax code to do it." Jenny Kraska HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR Visit the Colorado Catholic Conference's website to find your legislators and contact them regarding legislation. www.votervoice.net/COCC/ address. Read tips at www.cocatholic conference.org on how to write, call or visit your legislator. like a husband and wife." The debate arose after the state Department of Revenue made an emergency ruling in November declaring same-sex couples must file joint state returns if they filed joint federal returns, which is typically done by any couple filing jointly. But Colorado law doesn't allow it for same-sex couples. The state Department of Revenue's ruling permits joint state filings for 120 days, and Steadman said his bill would "bolster" that ruling. Kraska said while a solution is needed for couples filing jointly, Steadman's bill is not a solution that respects the state constitution. "Senator Steadman says it's needed to clean-up the language in the statute because it doesn't reflect the emergency ruling of the Department of Revenue," Kraska said. "My argument is for good reason because the state of Colorado does not recognize same-sex marriage." She said the right solution would be like that of Wisconsin, which adopted a new form for same-sex couples in this tax return dilemma. The state's new form helps couples calculate income from joint federal returns in order to file individual returns at the state level, she said. "I believe there can be a remedy as proven by other states that have already done this," Kraska said. bill makes state tax forms "marriage neutral." Kraska said Colorado is not a marriage neutral state and therefore tax forms should reflect this. "Anyone who cares about our constitution and the will of people, who put in a constitutional amendment that defines marriage between one man and one woman, shouldn't be happy with the fact that we're making our tax code marriage neutral," she said. At the same hearing, attorney Michael Norton of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit religious liberties organization, testified that the state department's ruling is unconstitutional. Its ruling is contrary to state law that limits joint income tax returns to "a husband and wife." "If the Colorado Department of Revenue persists in this ruling and two people who are not married are permitted to file joint returns, litigation can be expected," Norton said in his prepared comments. Litigation may be mute, however, if the bill passes quickly through the Legislature, he said. Nonetheless, Norton questions the department's authority to make such rulings and called it another step in the "subterfuge effort to undermine marriage." Carolyn Tyler, public information officer for the state attorney general's office, said it is not making a statement on the Department of Revenue's ruling at this time. "The fact the attorney general hasn't taken a position on this is also somewhat troubling because it affects our constitution," Kraska said. However, documents obtained by the Denver Catholic Register dated Dec. 6 show the attorney general's office "finds no apparent constitutional or legal deficiency in their form or substance" with the department's ruling. The bill headed to the Senate for a second reading after it passed a finance committee 3-2. Jenny Kraska of the Colorado Catholic Conference said it's a back-door way to erode the definition of marriage, defined as between one man and one woman in the state constitution. "They're slowly chipping away at marriage and they're using the tax code to do it," she said. "It's disrespectful to what our constitution says and it's disrespectful to the voters of Colorado who voted for marriage to mean something very specific in Colorado." Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, who sponsors the bill, told the Denver Catholic Register constitutional approval of gay marriage is inevitable but his bill won't accomplish it. "I acknowledge I'm taking words like 'husband' and 'wife' and 'married' out of the tax code, but I don't see that as an attack on marriage; that's not my intent," Steadman said. "I don't think that marriage has a more special Colorado not "marriage Nissa LaPoint: 303-715-3138; place in our society just because neutral" there are particular little details Steadman argued in a com- nissa.lapoint@archden.org; www. in the tax code that use language mittee hearing Jan. 14 that the twitter.com/DCRegisterNissa DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-722-4687 OR CIRCULATION@ARCHDEN.ORG Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. 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