CNS STORY: Gay marriage proposals destructive to society, Vatican official says

The whole CNS
public Web site
headlines, briefs
stories, etc,
represents less
than one percent
of the daily news
report.

Get all the news!

If you would like
more information
about the
Catholic News
Service daily
news report,
please contact
CNS at one of
the following:
cns@
catholicnews.com
or
(202) 541-3250

Copyright:

This material
may not
be published,
broadcast,
rewritten or
otherwise
distributed.

Copyright
(c) 2004
Catholic News
Service/U.S.
Conference of
Catholic Bishops.

CNS Story:

RATZINGER-EUROPE Nov-19-2004 (500 words) xxxi

Gay marriage proposals destructive to society, Vatican official says

By John Thavis

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Instituting forms of gay marriage does not help homosexuals and is "destructive for the family and for society," Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said.

Cardinal Ratzinger said recent legislative proposals for gay marriage are part of a larger modern rupture between sexuality and fertility. They mark a radical departure from the conviction that the union between a man and a woman guarantees the future of humanity, he said.

Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made his comments in an interview published Nov. 19 by the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

The interview dealt primarily with Europe, where several countries have moved toward recognizing gay marriage.

Cardinal Ratzinger said this is a trend that "separates us from all the great cultures of humanity, which have always recognized the particular significance of sexuality: that a man and a woman are created to jointly be the guarantee of the future of humanity, a guarantee that is not only physical but also moral."

The cardinal said the church should have "great respect" for homosexuals as people who "are suffering and want to find their way to live justly." But creating forms of gay marriage "does not really help these people," he said.

Gay marriage legislation has an effect that goes beyond the homosexual population, Cardinal Ratzinger said. It promotes the idea that, because they may be legal, all such unions are morally acceptable, he said.

The cardinal said gay marriage proposals were just one example of the tremendous changes challenging European culture.

"The low birth rate and immigration is changing even the ethnic composition of Europe. Above all, we have passed from a Christian culture to an aggressive form of secularism that at times is intolerant," he said.

As an example of this intolerance, the cardinal cited a case in Sweden where a Christian minister was imprisoned for preaching against homosexuality on the basis of Scripture.

Cardinal Ratzinger said Islam represents a special challenge for Europeans. In a positive sense, he said, Christians should be reflecting on the deep religious practice of Muslims, their firm faith in God, their awareness that we "are all under God's judgment" and the observance of common religious practices -- all things that Christians in Europe are losing, he said.

On the other hand, the cardinal said, Muslims should learn from the Christian culture the importance of religious freedom, and the separation between church and state.

He said Christians should demonstrate to Muslims that "a God that allows more freedom to human beings" also offers them more space for cultural development.

Cardinal Ratzinger said that despite worrisome signs of a decline in religion in Europe he was confident that "the faith is not dead" on the continent.

"I am sure that even in the context of a multicultural society, and even with these great disputes, the Christian faith will remain an important factor, capable of furnishing moral and cultural strength to the continent," he said.

END

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250