The Vatican last week labeled support for gay marriage (and even lesser types of same-sex unions) as "gravely immoral":
"There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law," the Vatican declared.
Conservatives embraced the Vatican statement, somehow ignoring the complicating fact that the Vatican also considers divorce to be highly immoral, and Catholics who divorce and remarry to have entered a permanent state of adultery (i.e., hello hellfire). But we don't see headlines about that. And let's not even get into the grave sin of artificial birth control!
Meanwhile, there's the impending schism in the Episcopal Church over the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire. Rev. V. Gene Robinson told delegates to a church convention this weekend that his relationship with another man is "sacramental," just like marriage.
I'm not an Episcopalian, but as on outsider it does appear that the opposing views of the gay-affirming and gay-hostile wings of their church, and the same but larger conflict within the worldwide Anglican Communion, means an unavoidable split. And maybe that's not a bad thing. If conservatives are going to block equality for gay people within their respective denominations, then let them have their own churches of prejudice, while other congregations joint together and show that confirming gay pastors and blessing gay unions is spiritually affirming, rather than spiritually destructive.
This is, of course, aside from the issue of civil marriage, which concerns the state's treating all citizens as equal under the law. The fight for equal civil marriage takes place in the public polity, but the fight within each denomination against homophobic policies should not involve the government.
It's important to keep this distinction in mind, as anti-gays
try to suggest that legal civil marriage for gays would somehow
force churches to change their dogma. Thus is fear and ignorance
spread.
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