The Florida Conference of Catholic
Bishops (FLACCB) has criticized a federal judge's ruling striking
down Florida's gay marriage ban.
The ruling, which takes effect
statewide on Tuesday, was superseded by a state judge's decision on
Monday to allow Miami-Dade County to immediately begin issuing
marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
(Related: Miami-Dade
begins issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.)
Allowing gay couples to marry “advances
the notion that marriage is only about the affective gratification of
consenting adults. Such a redefinition of marriage does nothing to
safeguard a child's right to a mother and father and to be raised in
a stable family where his or her development and well-being is served
to the greatest extent possible,” the bishops
wrote in a statement released Monday.
Marriage equality “threatens both
religious liberty and the freedom of individuals to conscientiously
object as already seen in those states that have redefined marriage
to accommodate same sex couples,” they added.