John C. Nienstedt, the archbishop of
St. Paul and Minneapolis, has sent another letter asking Roman
Catholic parishioners to support a proposed gay marriage ban.
Voters in November will decide on a
constitutional amendment which would define marriage as a
heterosexual union in the state.
Nienstedt's latest appeal was read in
Twin Cities parishes last Sunday.
“Our effort to support God's
unchanging plan for marriage is not a campaign against anyone, but
rather a positive effort to promote the truth about marriage as a
union between one man and one woman,” he wrote.
“But the reality is that marriage is
not ours to redefine, just as another human life is not ours to take.
God is both the author of life and the author of marriage. It is
this most fundamental understanding of the natural order that
animates who we are as Catholics. … It is also why we fight to
defend God's plan for marriage, because his providence is as clear
for what marriage is as it is for the dignity of each human life.”
The
Minn
Post
quoted Michael Bayly, the director of Catholics for Marriage
Equality, as saying that some people had walked out of their churches
during the reading.
(Related: Catholics
premiere song opposed to Minnesota gay marriage ban.)