O’Malley speaks out for marriage

Archbishop Sean O’Malley came out strongly against attempts to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. And the local media treats it as if they were surprised. I’m glad he’s speaking out in strong terms, but it shows how far our society has declined that we need to have a bishop tell us that gay marriage is bad. Massachusetts may be one of the most Catholic states, by percentage, but it is one of the least Catholic in the expression of the faith in the public square.

I found one paragraph in the Boston Globe story to be a curious non sequitur:

O’Malley, whose first months as archbishop have been consumed with settling the claims of hundreds who say they were sexually abused by priests, was vehement in yesterday’s speech that neither the church nor the government should tamper with the institution of marriage.

What does the settlements or the Scandal have to do with so-called gay marriage? Ah, for the Globe it has everything to do with it because the Church’s failings in that regard delegitimize Her right and ability to speak out on other moral issues, especially moral issues on which the Globe‘s editors and reporters think she is wrong.

Apart from that, I think the archbishop’s comments, as reported through the biased filter of the newspaper, are still pretty good. Ignore the paraphrases and comments of the reporter and just read the quotes (taken out of their context as they are) and you will like what you read:

“We are part of a pluralistic society and in no way pretend to force our religious preferences on other people,” O’Malley said. “But neither can we be intimidated by those who see our defense of the common good as simply mean-spirited, narrow-minded, or intolerant of other people’s rights. The rights of children and indeed of the community demand that we support family life by protecting the definition of marriage.”

Of course, there is the obligatory “equal time” for members of other churches who want same-sex marriage. There was evidently a protest outside the place where O’Malley spoke, although it was a very small crowd. And, of course, the reporter had to call someone at Dignity for the “gay Catholic” point of view. Because, you know, they don’t have Courage, the real group that helps Catholics with same-sex attraction, in their Rolodexes.