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French Political Prisoner of Defense of Marriage, Nicolas Bernard-Busse, Set Free

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Marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions. Civil institutions do not create marriage nor can they manufacture a right to marry for those who are incapable of marriage.

Nicolas was imprisoned for protesting against a State which decreed that asserting the truth about marriage as between one man and one woman - and making the claim that children have a right to a mother and father - constitute a crime. Such truth assertions are now called rebellion against the State in France.  Nicolas is a part of a growing movement in support of marriage, fatherhood and motherhood in France - a movement which must spread to our own shores. 

P>PARIS, France (Catholic Online) - On July 2, 2013, I wrote on the arrest of Nicolas Bernard-Busse, the first political prisoner in the Defense of Marriage Movement in France. I called attention to the fact that there are such political prisoners in the movement to defend marriage and the family and society founded upon them in France for many reasons. Yes, to call our readers to stand in solidarity with our friends in France. But also to raise the specter of what lies ahead in the United States of America.  

Nicolas Bernard-Busse is a 23-year old French University student who was wrongfully arrested following a demonstration outside the studios of a TV station where President François Hollande appeared. Nicolas and his friends went to the Champs-Élysées in central Paris. They wore T-shirts with the slogan - Manif pour tous. This logo of a father and mother with two children is becoming the symbol of a new defense of marriage movement in France. Wearing this image is also considered a revolutionary act by the State.

Nicolas was imprisoned for protesting against a State which decreed that asserting the truth about marriage as between one man and one woman - and making the claim that children have a right to a mother and father - constitute a crime. Such truth assertions are now called rebellion against the State in France.  Nicolas is a part of a growing movement in support of marriage, fatherhood and motherhood in France - a movement which must spread to our own shores. 

We must wake up to what is coming in the United States. Those who support Marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman will soon have their political prisoners in the United States of America.  Emboldened by the horrid decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Windsor case, activist groups committed to restructuring the social order have begun a multi-faceted strategy to enforce their Cultural Revolution. 

Though some noted that the Windsor opinion did not manufacture a federal constitutional right to same sex marriage, the effect of the opinion shifted the landscape legally. The dissenters on the Supreme Court only questioned the power and role of the Court. They used a strict constructionist approach to jurisprudence which failed to provide any real grounds for attacking this  poorly written majority opinion.

Sadly, this opinion may very well become the Roe v Wade of marriage, as some opined after it was issued. 

There was no consideration in any of the opinions of the existence of a Natural Moral Law which establishes and defines the nature of marriage - which civil authority must recognize and respect to be legitimate. The result was not unlike past judicial opinions in its assertion that the positive or civil law is simply malleable and can be changed with the shifting sands of societal whimsy. 

Marriage as existing solely between one man and one woman is not an idea manufactured by the Christian Church. It precedes Christianity. Though affirmed, fulfilled, and elevated by Christian teaching, the truth that marriage can exist only between one man and one woman is not based on religion or revelation alone, but on the Natural Moral Law, written on the human heart and discernible through the exercise of reason.

This claim of the existence of a Natural Moral Law is the ground upon which every great civilization has been built. It is the source of every authentic human and civil rights movement. This Natural Moral Law gives us the norms we need to build truly human and humane societies and to govern ourselves. It should inform our positive law or we become lawless and devolve into anarchy.

Marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions. Civil institutions do not create marriage nor can they manufacture a right to marry for those who are incapable of marriage. In the words of the first book of the Bible, we read: "it is not good for man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18) Society begins with marriage and the family.

The institutions of civil government should defend marriage - not undermine it or replace it with a profane counterfeit which steals the word while it destroys the institution. Government has long regulated marriage for the true common good. Examples such as the age of consent demonstrate such a proper regulation to ensure the free and voluntary basis of the marriage bond. Redefining the institution of marriage is improper and outside the authority of the State.

The US Supreme Court in Windsor opened the door to a Cultural Revolution. The opinion left no room for any limitation on what can constitute such a redefined notion of marriage. Conferring a moral and legal equivalency to same-sex couples by legislative or judicial fiat also sends the message that children do not need a mother and a father. It undermines their fundamental rights and threatens their security, stability, and future.

We need to watch what is happening in France. The Windsor decision and the strategy it unleashed among the cultural revolutionaries now puts us in an inevitable conflict with the growing power of the State. Experience and history have shown that if the civil government redefines marriage to grant a legal equivalency to same-sex couples, that same government will soon enforce such an action with the police power of the State and compel the Church to participate or face consequences.

We are on the path of an inevitable collision between the Federal government and religious freedom and conscience rights.

In the propaganda of the homosexual equivalency movement, the Press in France calls these peaceful people from every walk of life 'anti-equal marriage demonstrators'. Orwellian newspeak knows no national boundaries.  The goal of the homosexual equivalency movement is to entirely restructure civil society, by beginning with its frist cell, the family. The phrase 'marriage equality' is verbal engineering intended to clear the path to social and legal engineering.

The brave defenders of marriage and children in France regularly face tear gas and clubs from the riot police representing the French Socialist regime. They are courageous - and unwilling to back down. They frequently sing La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem, and carry handmade signs supporting marriage as between one man and one woman - which dare to suggest that children have a right to a mother and a father.

Though the Marriage defenders in France represent every segment of French society, and reflect a wide range of ages, ethnic identities and political persuasions, they are collectively labeled as conservatives and right wing in the press. They are disparaged as bigots, though they are multi-racial and multi-ethnic in their make-up.

There is growing action being taken by the Federal government against our rights to free expression, association and political participation in the United States. This is reflected in the censoring of speech which questions the propriety of the current cultural slide into the abyss of relativism. Efforts to prevent our public defense of the objective truth about marriage and the family are multiplying.

France is a sign of what is to come in the United States of America.

Twenty three year old Nicolas is a hero to the French supporters of marriage. His lawyer, Henri de Beauregard, called the Courts order of arrest - 'grotesque'. He argued that it was a wrongful arrest intended to intimidate Nicolas and this movement. The supporters of Nicolas developed a facebook page calling him a political prisoner. He was a political prisoner! 

They also acted! They developed an online petition  which demanded his release. It worked! On Tuesday, July 9, 2013, the supporters of  La Manif Pour Tous announced in the center of Paris that Nicolas Bernard-Buss had been released. In their words "The release followed a national and international outcry, and tens of thousands of people signed a petition for his release. "

Nicolas issued a statement thanking all "who showed their support by attending protests, sending cards or sharing the news via internet and social media." Here is a rough translation of the Frenchstatement of this heroic young man:

"I wish from my heart to thank everyone who has invested in this outpouring of support that really touched me. I have a special appreciation for my parents who have shown great dignity in this difficult situation. I give a big thank you to my lawyers and so many diverse people as Chantal Delsol and Christophe Girard. I resume my views where I had left them before the event and intend to return to my life as a student".

The leaders announced that the struggle is far from over. Twelve more young people have been arrested simply for wearing the La Manif Pour Tous (LMPT) logo. They have announced another major rally in Paris on Sunday, July 14, 2013. Are we ready to learn from these defenders of marriage and children?

Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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