USCCB Subcommittee Chair Calls Minnesota Lawmakers’ Post-Mother’s Day Marriage Redefinition ‘Height Of Irony’

WASHINGTON—"It is the height ofirony that the Minnesota legislature decided, and the governor signed into law,the redefinition of marriage just after we celebrated the unique gifts ofmothers and women on Mother's Day," said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of SanFrancisco. Archbishop Cordileone chairs the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. He saidfurther, "It is all the more so given the fact that in the last electionMinnesotans were led to believe that there was no need to define marriage inthe constitution, that nothing would change if the marriage amendment didn'tpass."

"It also renders senseless the veryidea of President Obama's National Fatherhood Initiative, in that a bill nowbecomes law in Minnesota that effectively claims that a mother and a fathertogether are superfluous and can be replaced by two men or two women," headded.

Archbishop Cordileone noted thatMinnesota is the third state in just over a week to redefine marriage in thelaw.

"There are many of us Americans,including many Minnesotans, who stand for the natural and true meaning of marriage.They know that men and women are important; their complementary differencematters, their union matters, and it matters to kids. Mothers and fathers aresimply irreplaceable," he said. "Instead of strengthening, the Minnesotalegislature's decision to redefine marriage weakens motherhood and fatherhood,and so strikes a blow to all children who deserve both a mother and father."

"Somewish to believe that sexual relationships outside of the marital context ofhusband and wife are innocuous, choosing to ignore the fact that they areactually harmful to individuals and to society as a whole," he added.

"Weknow that now is the time to redouble our prayers, efforts and witness. Thetruth of marriage is not going away," Archbishop Cordileone said. "We know whatit takes to work toward a culture of life even in the midst of laws that workagainst us. The same is true for rebuilding a culture of marriage. No matterwhat the horizon may bring, we will continue in charity and truth to stand forjustice and for the most vulnerable among us."

TheMinnesota law highlights further implications of marriage redefinition in thelaw. For example, the law states that terms such as "husband," "wife," "mother,"and "father" that denote spousal and familial relationships in Minnesota laware to apply equally to persons in an opposite-sex or same-sex relationship. Thelaw also states that "parentage presumptions based on civil marriage" will alsoapply, thus allowing for children to have two mothers or two fathers.

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Keywords: Minnesota, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone,San Francisco, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, marriage, NationalFatherhood Initiative, Mother's Day

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