The bishops keep spinning. A full week after one of the four Massachusetts diocesan bishops, speaking on behalf of the other three, told the state Legislature that while the Church is opposed to same-sex marriage, it would be okay with some benefits for gay couples, now the bishops are spinning it the other way, and blaming the media for misintrepreting the bishop’s words.
Here is what Bishop Reilly’s exchange with a reporter:
The Boston Herald said that a reporter asked Bishop Reilly about denying benefits to “gay couples” and the bishop allegedly responded, “That’s wrong, and that’s too bad.” He further said, “We have to find a way to give civil benefits to gay partners.”
A few questions: These stories came out a week ago. Why wait so long to clarify? Maybe the impetus for clarification only came after a call from the papal nuncio or from Rome. How can the bishops plausibly claim they were not changing their position when their position over the past decade has been that no special rights should be extended to homosexuals? How could anyone not intepret Reilly’s statement that the Church wanted to “join the discussion” as anything other than offering the possibility that the Church might say yes?
