Denver Catholic

4 JULY 11-24, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Cover Story correctness or wishful think- ing can really change what marriage is." The three bishops—Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs and Bishop Stephen Berg of Pueblo—said men and women were designed by God to complement one another in marriage and form a conjugal union. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the case Obergefell v. Hodges that the Four- teenth Amendment requires a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex, including when it is law- fully licensed and performed out-of-state. Thirty-seven states permitted same-sex "marriage" before the court's ruling. Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the decision calling same-sex "mar- riage" a right. He said same-sex couples are not seeking to disrespect marriage, but that they want to seek fulfi llment in it themselves. "Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions," he wrote. "They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right." Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, dissented saying the Constitu- tion had nothing to say on the subject. "If you are among the many Americans, of whatever sexual orientation, who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today's decision," Chief Justice Roberts wrote. "But do not cele- brate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it." The decision triggered same-sex cere- monies across the states and in those that banned the practice. Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, also responded June 26 stating no court deci- sion or ceremony can alter marriage. "Today's ruling by the Supreme Court is deeply fl awed and extremely disappoint- ing.ƒ Marriage by its very nature is the union of one man and one woman and no court decision can change that," she said. While the ruling was erroneous, she said she hopes the courts will uphold the right to defend marriage. "It is our sincere hope that the religious freedom of those with di– ering views on marriage will, in fact, be respected," Kraska said. She added that the court noted, "…reli- gions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned." Colorado's bishops also stated those in support of marriage should continue to pray and express their beliefs without fear. "We are concerned that hateful rhet- oric and discrimination against those, whose religious and moral beliefs sup- port the true defi nition of marriage that has existed for millennia, will intensify," they stated. "We will continue to pray that people with di– ering views on mar- riage will be able to express their beliefs and convictions without fear of intimida- tion or hostility, and more importantly that religious freedom and liberty will be supported and defended." Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, also responded June 26 stating the Supreme Court's decision is "profoundly immoral and unjust." Marriage must be protected, especially for the sake of children, he stated. "Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vul- nerable among us, especially children," Archbishop Kurtz said. "The law has a duty to support every child's basic right to be raised, where possible, by his or her mar- ried mother and father in a stable home." The bishops added that marriage is an institution that concerns everyone. "Protecting the meaning of civil mar- riage should concern all people because stable marriages and family life are the foundation of a fair and prosperous soci- ety," the Colorado bishops stated. The bishops urged faithful to take cour- age, have strength and pray that those of good will remain united in defense of marriage. "All people of good will must remain united in defense of marriage between one man and one woman, while bearing witness to the love and mercy of Jesus Christ," they said. Bishops « 1 | grand words, or complicated con- cepts, but with the joy of the Gospel, which fi lls the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus," the pope said July 7. "Evangelization does not consist in pros- elytizing—proselytizing is a caricature of evangelization; rather, evangelization is attracting by our witness those who are far o– , humbly drawing near to those who feel distant from God and the Church, drawing close to those who feel judged and con- demned from the start by those who feel they're perfect and pure, drawing near to those who are fearful or indi– erent." Pope Francis' Mass took place in Quito on the second full day of his apostolic journey to his home continent of South America. The July 5-13 tour will also include stops in Bolivia and Paraguay. Set in Quito's Bicentennial Park, the Mass followed a casual meeting with Ecuador's bishops earlier that morning. The park commemorates the 1809 Ecuadorian call for independence from Spain—the fi rst of its kind in Latin America—which he noted "arose from being conscious of a lack of freedom, of exploitation and despoliation." In his homily, which was packed with references to his 2013 apostolic exhor- tationƒ Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis centered on Christ's prayer in Jn 17:21 that his disciples "be one… so that the world may believe." Referring to the "cry" of Christ to his father and the Ecuadorians' early cry for independence, he said that "I would like to see these two cries joined together, under the beautiful challenge of evangelization." "We who are gathered here at table with Jesus are ourselves a cry, a shout born of the conviction that his presence leads us to unity." Even though Christ was experiencing "the worst of this world" in his own fl esh at the moment of his prayer, he didn't back down or complain. Rather, he wel- comed his task and calls us to the do the same, the pope said. "We, too, encounter daily a world torn apart by wars and violence … But it is precisely this troubled world into which Jesus sends us," he said, explaining that we shouldn't respond to this call "with nonchalance, or complain we do not have the resources to do the job, or that the problems are too big. Instead, we must respond by taking up the cry of Jesus and accepting the grace and challenge of being builders of unity." Pope Francis remarked that "there was no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom which arose a little more than 200 years ago. But history tells us that it only made headway once personal di– erences were set aside, together with the desire for power and the inability to appre- ciate other movements of liberation which were di– erent yet not thereby opposed." "Evangelization can be a way to unite our hopes, concerns, ideals and even uto- pian visions," he said, noting that "the desire for unity involves the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, the conviction that we have an immense trea- sure to share, one which grows stronger from being shared, and becomes ever more sensitive to the needs of others." He stressed that from this comes "the need to work for inclusivity at every level, to avoid forms of selfi shness, to build communication and dialogue, to encourage collaboration." "Our unity can hardly shine forth if spir- itual worldliness makes us feud among ourselves in a futile quest for power, pres- tige, pleasure or economic security," he said. Pope Francis then turned to the Church's salvifi c mission, saying that part of her identity is to embrace all nations on earth without discrimination. Using a phrase he frequently repeats inƒEvangelii Gaudium, the pope said that becoming a "missionary Church" means constantly striving to foster communion, since mission implies more than "out- reach alone." "We also need to be missionaries within the Church, showing that she is a mother who reaches out, a welcoming home, a con- stant school of missionary communion." Pope Francis then noted the impor- tance of maintaining a spiritual life based on a personal encounter with Christ. "This encounter leads us in turn to encounter others, to become involved with our world and to develop a passion for evangelization." He stressed that the unity to which Christ calls us is not a mere uniformity, but rather implies living in harmony amid our di– erences. Unity is not something "we can fashion as we will, setting conditions, choosing who can belong and who cannot," he said, adding that "none are excluded." Such a "religiousity of the elite is not what Jesus proposes," the pope added. Nor, he refl ected, does unity mean we all have the same tastes or gifts. "We are brothers and sisters because God created us out of love and destined us, purely of his own initiative, to be his sons and daughters … that is the salvation which God makes possible for us, and which the Church proclaims with joy: to be part of the divine 'we.'" The pope concluded his homily by praying that Ecuadorians would be a sign and witness of fraternal communion for the world by caring for one another. When we give ourselves in service to others, "we discover our true identity as children of God in the image of the father and, like him, givers of life; we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear witness," the pope said. Pope « 1 | People with fl ags gathered outside before a papal Mass in Quito, Ecuador during Pope Francis' visit to South America. PHOTO BY ALAN HOLDREN/CNA

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