Is Paladino Playing Both Sides of Gay Issues?

New York's Republican gubernatorial nominee claims to agree with both the Catholic Church and President Obama on homosexuality. Where does he really stand? Left unexplained is what he meant by saying he has "absolutely no problem whatsoever" with homosexuality besides seeking a right to marriage. If he means he approves of genital relations between consenting adults of the same sex, then he would be opposed to Catholic teaching, which calls all such activity intrinsically disordered.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Catholic Online) - Carl Paladino professes to agree with both the Catholic Church and President Obama on issues regarding homosexuality. Voters will need to sort out these apparently divergent claims. The Republican nominee for Governor of New York created a firestorm earlier this week with negative comments about homosexuality, both from a speech delivered at a Brooklyn synagogue and from remarks in a prepared statement that were deleted from his actual address. Paladino's efforts to clarify his stance have exposed contradictions in what he claims to believe. Paladino told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday: "I wanted to clearly distinguish that my feelings about homosexuality were no different than those of the Catholic Church." In the same interview he said:  "I only have one problem with homosexuality and that's their desire to be married. Beyond that, I don't have a problem whatsoever." Paladino reiterated this view on NBC's "Today": "I have absolutely no problem with it whatsoever. My only reservation is with marriage." Left unexplained is what he meant by saying he has "absolutely no problem whatsoever" with homosexuality besides seeking a right to marriage. If he means he approves of genital relations between consenting adults of the same sex, then he would be opposed to Catholic teaching, which calls all such activity intrinsically disordered. Later Monday, while marching in New York's Columbus Day Parade, Paladino told NY1: "I unequivocally support gay rights, unequivocally. The one thing I don't [support] is marriage, all right? I'm a Catholic." He also told NY1 that he supports the right of gay couples to adopt children. While Catholic bishops decry discrimination and violence aginst homosexual persons, they oppose the adoption of children by homosexual couples. In the face of these possibly contradictory statements, Paladino's campaign manager, Michael Caputo, told CNN: "Carl Paladino's position on [homosexuality] is exactly equivalent to the Catholic Church." Yet in a Facebook post Paladino wrote: "My position on marriage is based on my personal views. I have the same position on this issue as President Barack Obama." The President's 2008 campaign statement on LGBT rights stated: "Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples, including the right to assist their loved ones in times of emergency as well as equal health insurance, employment benefits, and property and adoption rights. Obama also believes we need to fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples." While claiming to share the President's views, Paladino also claims to hold the exact position as the Catholic Church, even though the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have taken unequivocal stands in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act and the Federal Marriage Amendment, as well as against homosexual couples adopting children, civil unions, and any other attempt to give homosexual couples the same legal recognition as married couples. On two different occasions, in 2003 and 2006, the USCCB Administrative Committee stated: "We strongly oppose any legislative and judicial attempts, both at state and federal levels, to grant same-sex unions the equivalent status and rights of marriage - by naming them marriage, civil unions, or by other means."
 
In 2003 a statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated: "Laws in favor of homosexual unions are contrary to right reason because they confer legal guarantees, analogous to those granted to marriage, to unions between persons of the same sex." Carl Paladino owes an explanation for these divergent views not only to New York Catholics, but to all New Yorkers who will be voting in November. Voters have the right to know exactly where a candidate stands. So where does Paladino really stand on this issue?

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James Penrice is a contributor to Catholic Online.

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