A Law Student Writes

Professor Perry,

I write to you concerning an article you posted on Mirror of Justice by Kate Childs Graham....

I’m wondering if you feel, as I do, that room can easily be made, and should be, for a marriage like Kate and Ariana’s within the Church. Obviously, this would require that the “institutional Catholic Church” (as Childs Graham put it) adopt a change to its definition of marriage. The Catechism in Paragraph 1660 refers to marriage as “an intimate communion of life and love… ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children.” This, to me, is very broad and seemingly could be opened to couples not consisting of a man and a woman. Even the “generation… of children,” by virtue of modern science, does not require a heterosexual union in order to be effected. Perhaps more to the point, and directly on point with the sentiment of Ms. Childs Graham’s editorial, “From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament.” (Catechism, Paragraph 1638)

Granted, we are provided a one-sided and biased account, but the relationship between Kate and Ariana exhibits all of the qualities valued by the Church in a marital union, save heterosexuality. What ill can come from such communion based on love and dedication between two people? I know that I am short shrifting the Church’s definition and understanding of “marriage,” but is the position of the modern Catholic Church (emphasis on modern) sustainable on principle? Or, is it as I fear, merely clinging to tradition and a (possibly flawed) interpretation of Old Testament allegory?

I ... often find myself critical of the tradition I grew up in. This is at least one of the reasons I find myself drawn to many of your posts. (The latest by John Kavanaugh is no exception. By the way, I think he puts easier “questions” to the pro-life extremists than those he puts to the pro-choicers.) For all of the good done by the Church, and for the strength and beauty of its tradition, I have a hard time imagining myself returning to weekly mass if the Church does not address what I feel is its immoral treatment of many people within and without of its sanctuaries. The LGBTQ community, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, represents one group that I believe gets such treatment from the Church. The thought-provoking columns in your posts suggest that you may share some of this sentiment. Is there any truth to this, or are you dedicating yourself to making sure that all voices and viewpoints are heard from in the MOJ discussion?

Respectfully,

[a law student]

[I replied, explaining that in my judgment, the Church's teaching on homosexuality is false teaching and that the Church's position on gay and lesbian unions is unjust.]