Bishop Salvatore Cordileone has blamed
voters' lack of understanding for four gay marriage wins on Election
Day.
Cordileone, an outspoken opponent of
gay nuptials who in 2008 backed passage of Proposition 8,
California's ban, was recently installed as the leader of the
Archdiocese of San Francisco.
At the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops' (USCCB) semi-annual General Assembly being held in
Baltimore, the Roman Catholic bishops showed no sign of easing their
opposition to marriage equality after supporters won ballot measures
in four states last week. In three states, Maine, Washington state
and Maryland, voters legalized the institution, while Minnesotans
rejected an effort to ban it.
When asked by reporters whether the
election results would have any bearing on the tone of the church's
message, Cordileone defended the church's position.
“Last Tuesday was a disappointing day
for marriage,” Cordileone said. “But rather than being a cause
for giving up, it is a call to intensify efforts to strengthen and
defend marriage. The fact of the matter is that the effort to
preserve the unique meaning of marriage in the law as the union of
one man and one woman lost by only a narrow margin ...”
“This election is a symptom of a much
larger problem. Which is that many people simply do not understand
what marriage is.”
“Marriage is not a matter of two
consenting adults simply coming together for the state to ratify
their romantic relationship. Rather marriage is the only institution
that unites a man and a woman to each other and to any children born
of their union. … It is either this or it is nothing at all.”
(Related: Bishop
J. Peter Sartain: Gay marriage not in the best interest of children,
society.)