Diocesan Resources
One Man, One Woman, for Life: Lead Messages on Marriage Redefinition (2015)
One Man, One Woman, for Life: Lead Messages on Marriage Redefinition
The Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015 that the 14th Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to two persons of the same sex and recognize same sex “marriages” that were contracted in another state. “Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us, especially children” (Archbishop Kurtz).
Marriage is and can only be the union of one man and one woman. It is the only institution that unites a man and a woman with each other and with any child who comes from their union. Only a man and a woman can become husband and wife, father and mother, together.
Marriage is a natural institution that predates government. Every human society has acknowledged that the sexual union of man and woman matters because it creates the next generation. While Jesus elevates Christian marriage to a sacrament, the complementarity of the sexes and the natural meaning of marriage can be known through reason without appealing to Scripture.