Denver Catholic

2 JULY 11-24, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page Vatican Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published weekly except the last week of December and the fi rst weeks of January, and in June, July and August when it goes bi-weekly. Denver Catholic is printed by Signature O¡ set in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. EDITORIAL: 303-715-3230 or denvercatholic@archden.org | ADVERTISING: 303-715-3253 or denvercatholicads@archden.org CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-715-3230 or circulation@archden.org General Manager KARNA SWANSON Director ANDREW WRIGHT Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila @ArchbishopDen July 5 from Puebla, México Mass @ the Chapel of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, their feast today. Studying Spanish here. Blessings! "The family is being hit, the family is being struck and the family is being bastardized." These words come from Pope Francis, who spoke them in an October 2014 address to the Schoen- statt movement about how secular Western culture has turned against the family. And over the last several weeks, he has reinforced this message during his Wednesday catechesis on the true meaning of the family. When the United States Supreme Court issued its June 26 decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case and redefi ned marriage, this rift between the prevailing culture and the created order was placed in the spotlight. The triumph of relativ- ism and the removal of truth, reason, and virtue from our national debate on mar- riage were obvious for all to see. Many of those who support changing marriage say, "You shouldn't be wor- ried. This doesn't a– ect people of faith. It only changes the civil defi nition of marriage." But what those who sup- port the state changing its defi nition of marriage to include same-sex couples don't realize is that people of faith are concerned about living their entire lives in conformity with how God created the world. It is neither possible nor healthy to live a life that is divided between one's public and private existence. We cannot, no matter how hard we try, change the created order of nature. And yet, this is what those in favor of rede- fi ning marriage are promoting. The Holy Father addressed the dan- gers of interacting with the world this way in his encyclical on the environ- ment, Laudato Si' (LS). He calls this a "technocratic" mentality that sees the natural world, our social institutions, our bodies and even our personalities as a kind of "raw material" that can be shaped according to our will, without any regard for their created purpose. This self-serving way of life, the pope says, compromises the "dignity of the world." And, he warns: "When human beings fail to fi nd their true place in this world, they misunderstand themselves and end up acting against themselves: 'Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given, but, man too is God's gift to man. He must therefore respect the nat- ural and moral structure with which he has been endowed'" (LS, 115). Certainly this applies to marriage, an institution that was created by God before states and laws ever existed. The fact is the debate about marriage is not about equality or rights; it is about whether man can redefi ne creation. Over the last century we have already seen the fallout from attempting to do this with other aspects of marriage. With the widespread use of contracep- tion, fruitfulness and fi delity became no longer recognized as necessary parts of m arriage. The permanent nature of marriage has also been undermined by the acceptance of divorce. Blessed Pope Paul VI predicted that accepting contraception would result in a general lowering of morality, increased infi - delity, a decrease in men's respect for women, and governments attempting to force birth control on their citizens – all of which have happened. The damage caused by redefi ning marriage as something not permanent, not requir- ing total fi delity and as not necessarily fruitful is evident from the data being reported by the social sciences. Although much of Western society had already moved to support rede- fi ning marriage to include same-sex relationships, the Supreme Court's legal approval will undoubtedly have further consequences. Sociological and statistical stud- ies have already begun to show what happens when children are raised by same-sex couples, instead of a mother and father. In his January 2015 study, The Unex- pected Harm of Same-Sex Marriage, Dr. Donald Sullins details how children who are raised by same-sex couples do worse on nine out of twelve measures of emo- tional and developmental health than children being raised by opposite sex parents. Similar results were reported in recent large-sample studies carried out by Dr. Mark Regnerus and Dr. Doug- las Allen. Interestingly, one series of studies by Dr. Jennifer Wainwright found that there were no negative outcomes for children raised by same-sex couples, but these studies had signifi cant coding errors that resulted in children with heterosexual parents being included in the homosexual sample. When this was corrected for, Wainright's study showed similar negative results for children being raised by same-sex couples. But the tragic fact is that the Supreme Court's ruling does not mention chil- dren and the impact its decision will have on them, even though these same studies were presented to the court. The court obviously does not appreciate the crucial and irreplaceable role that marriage between a man and woman plays in bringing forth new life and rais- ing virtuous citizens. Only a man and woman can bring about the gift of chil- dren and become the mother and father that every child needs. The question that remains for Cath- olics and all who recognize the vital importance of living in accord with the created order is, "What should we do now?" The new era that we have embarked on – in which Christianity and the natural order no longer inform the law – brings with it the opportunity to share the joy of living according to God's plan with those who are searching for it. This will require us to be generous when it is di¦ cult, to be open to those who are su– ering, and willing to endure being misunderstood or rejected. So many of you have encountered Christ, dedicated your lives to living the sacrament of marriage and raising chil- dren who are faithful men and women of character. I give thanks to God and to you for your witness. I have also been blessed to meet young families through- out the archdiocese and around the country, who are striving to raise their children to be saints, as well as young people who aspire to be married. All of you give joy to my heart and hope for the future. He who created heaven and earth will give us the grace we need to be faithful to him and will continue to pour out the gifts of his Spirit on those who live according to his plan! May our Lord bless you and fi ll you with his peace! Have faith in the family PHOTO BY FOTOLIA

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