Knights of Columbus and Marriage Protection

'No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman'(CDF).

PHOENIX (Catholic Online) - The Knights of Columbus gathered in Phoenix, Arizona for their 127th Annual Convention. Among several important resolutions they passed was one entitled the "Resolution on Support for Marriage." I set it forth below:

Resolution on Support for Marriage adopted by the 127th Supreme Convention

WHEREAS, marriage is a natural institution based on ancient human values that are deeply rooted in our social, legal and religious institutions; and

WHEREAS, marriage is not a chance sociological or historical construction but instead reflects the natural biological complementarity of man and woman which predates the state and is woven into the social and religious fabric of every major culture and society; and

WHEREAS, the Catholic Church, based on Scripture and the Judeo-Christian tradition, teaches that marriage is a faithful, exclusive and lifelong union between one man and one woman joined in an intimate partnership of life and love; and

WHEREAS, marriage provides for the mutual fulfillment of spouses as well as the procreation and education of children; and

WHEREAS, this mutual bond is the most vital resource for the development of society and provides the most favorable environment in which to protect the rights and the best interests of children; and

WHEREAS, Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us in Deus Caritas Est that marriage based on the exclusive love between a man and a woman becomes an icon of the relationship between God and his people; and

WHEREAS, speaking to the Sixth World Meeting of Families in Mexico City in January 2009, Pope Benedict XVI urged all Christians to reaffirm the dignity and the irreplaceable value of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman open to human life in all its stages;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus will never waver in its efforts to promote the Church's understanding of marriage as the faithful, exclusive and lifelong union of one man and one woman joined in an intimate partnership of life and love; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we will pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten elected officials to adopt laws and judges to exercise their authority so as to affirm the family and the authentic nature of marriage; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we join the national bishops conferences throughout the world in their efforts to achieve legal and constitutional protection at the national, state, territorial or local levels for the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

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The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church issued a definitive document in 2003 concerning the defense of marriage. It confirmed the unbroken teaching of the Church. It also addressed growing efforts in some Western nations to redefine the word marriage and thereby eliminate the institution of the family.

In it they said: "The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes, reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives."

Marriage is the most fundamental of all human social institutions. It is a relationship revealed by the Natural Law which binds all men and women. Civil institutions do not create marriage nor confer upon anyone a "right" to marry. The institutions of government should, when acting properly, defend marriage and the family founded upon it against anyone who would undermine it or redefine it. As a Catholic, I am scandalized by some Catholics in political life who support the effort to grant legal equivalency between homosexual paramours and married couples. They are wrong in their policy position. They are unfaithful to the teaching of their Church.

Government has long regulated marriage for the common good, recognizing that the family is the first society. It is also the first mediating institution, the first government, first economy, first school, first church and first vital cell of society. For example, the ban on polygamy and age requirements were enforced in order to ensure that there was a mature decision at the basis of the Marriage contract. Heterosexual marriage, procreation, and the nurturing of children form the foundation for the family, and the family forms the foundation of civil society. To confine marriage to heterosexual couples is not discriminatory. Homosexual couples simply cannot bring into existence what marriage intends by its very definition.

To confer the legal benefits that have only been conferred upon stable married couples and families upon homosexual paramours is very bad public policy. Sadly, those who claim that attempting through the judiciary or the legislative branch to include homosexual paramours in the positive law definition of marriage is simply a matter of "tolerance" are often the most intolerant. They insist on forcing their Cultural Revolution on the rest of us. Notice how intolerant they are of those who, though respecting the dignity of every person, including homosexuals, also insist that marriage is what it is.

The Knights of Columbus are to be commended for their clear, courageous, uncompromising and forthright defense of true marriage and the family and society founded upon it. We call upon all of our readers throughout the world to prayerfully work for International Marriage Protection and thereby promote the true common good.

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