Thomas John Paprocki, the Roman
Catholic bishop of Springfield, Illinois, has urged Catholics to
oppose a proposed gay marriage law because otherwise they would be
subject to “harsh discriminatory treatment.”
Illinois lawmakers are debating the
issue during a lame-duck session, which ends on Tuesday. But after a
tumultuous path in the Senate, some outlets are reporting that
supporters have decided to postpone their push until after the new
legislative session begins on Wednesday.
(Related: Gay
marriage bill clears Illinois Senate committee.)
In a pastoral letter dated January 2,
Paprocki joined other Illinois Catholic leaders in describing gay
nuptials as against nature.
(Related: Cardinal
Francis George: Gay marriage is unnatural.)
“All people of goodwill, and
especially Christ's faithful committed to my pastoral care in the
Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, should resolutely oppose this
bill and make their opinions known to their representatives,”
Paprocki
wrote.
“[N]either two men nor two women –
nor, for that matter, three or more people – can possibly form a
marriage. Our law would be lying if it said that they could.”
“The basic structure of marriage as
the exclusive and lasting relationship of a man and a woman,
committed to a life which is fulfilled by having children, is given
to us in human nature, and thus by nature's God.”
“There is no possible way – none
whatsoever – for those who believe that marriage is exclusively
the union of husband and wife to avoid legal penalties and harsh
discriminatory treatment if the bill becomes law. … After all, we
would be people who, according to the thinking behind the bill, hold
onto an 'unfair' view of marriage. The state would have equated our
view with bigotry – which it uses the law to marginalize in every
way short of criminal punishment.”