Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain has laid down Roman Catholic church law on same-sex marriages now allowed under Washington civil law:? The church will have nothing to do with such ?marriages? ? apostrophes courtesy of the Archbishop.
?This change in civil law is not in the best interest of church or society,? Sartain, who recorded three videos on why the faithful should vote against Referendum 74,? said in a ?Policy Refresher? sent to parishes in Western Washington.? It has also been copied by Bishop Joseph Tyson on the website of the Diocese of Yakima.
Archbishop J. Peter Sartain
The ?Refresher? rains down prohibitions on same-sex marriage.? They include:
??No priest or deacon or lay minister may officiate at a same-sex ?marriage.?
??No church facility or school facility may be offered for such an event, even if it is to be witnessed by a non-Catholic minister or civil official.
??No church facility or school facility may be used for a reception after such an event.
??No church ministers, ordained or lay, may offer ?wedding preparation? for such couples.?
The anti-Referendum 74 campaign, in TV spots and literature, claimed that the marriage equality law passed by the Legislature would subject opponents of ?traditional marriage? to persecution, and did not contain adequate protections for those not wishing to offer wedding services.
In the Policy Refresher, however, the Archdiocese of Seattle recites chapter and verse from protections included in the law, such as the provision that clergy are ?immune from any civil claim or cause of action based on a refusal to solemnize or recognize any marriage under this section.?? It also quotes provisions that no church or organization is required to make facilities available.
?Since marriage is regulated by both civil and canon law, clerics must always keep in mind the demands of both law systems,? said the Refresher.? ?Now that any two persons regardless of gender are permitted to enter marriage as defined by the state law, the law of the Catholic Church diverges from civil law. ?
It adds that couples of the same gender ?even if permitted to celebrate a civil marriage, are not qualified by canon law to enter marriage.?
The Referendum 74 campaign witnessed cleavages in Washington?s Catholic community.
The state?s four Catholic bishops denounced same-sex marriage as a threat to society and to the raising of children.? Bishop Tyson wrote an emotional letter saying that marriage equality was a threat to ?religious freedom? and to civil rights.? Sartain and Spokane Bishop Blaise Cupich recorded videos critical of Ref. 74.? The Knights of Columbus contributed to the anti-74 campaign.
But a lay group called Catholics for Marriage Equality campaigned for same-sex marriage, and a week before the election demonstrated outside St. James Cathedral in Seattle and St. Paul?s Cathedral in Yakima.? Gov. Chris Gregoire and State Sen. Ed Murray, both Catholics, championed passage of marriage equality in the Legislature.? Sixty-three resigned Catholic priests endorsed Ref. 74.
Sartain has refrained from the apocalyptic and partisan bluster of some brother bishops, and allowed several Seattle and Tacoma parishes ? including St. James Cathedral ? to opt out of serving as collection centers for signatures to force a vote on marriage equality.
In a preface to the Policy Refresher, however, Sartain clearly states his views:? ?. . . I was, of course, disappointed that so many voters failed to recognize marriage between a man and a woman as the natural institution for the permanent, faithful covenant of love for a couple, for bringing children into the world, and for nurturing and educating those children.?
The archbishop also laid down policy on another controversial ballot measure passed in November.? It may be legal under Washington law, but:? ?Marijuana, like alcohol, will be prohibited on parish property.?
?The only exception to this policy pertains to alcohol at official pastor-approved parish events at which alcoholic beverages are served.?
But, apparently, there will be no pastor-approved smoking or ingestion of cannabis.
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