Bishop James Conley, the apostolic
administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver, has called a proposed
bill that would recognize the relationships of gay and lesbian
couples with civil unions “dangerous and unjust.”
“We do not know the long-term
consequences of creating a parallel for marriage, distinct from its
ancient and natural meaning. But we do know they will be severe,”
Conley said in a January op-ed titled Make No Mistake: Civil
Unions Are An Effort To Redefine Marriage published in the Denver
Catholic Register.
Gay couples can currently enter a civil
union in Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware and Hawaii.
“The Catholic Church doesn't teach
that persons who experience homosexual inclinations are evil –
quite the contrary, in fact,” Conley wrote. “But our church does
believe that homosexual attraction is a tragic distortion of the
great gift of sexuality God has given us. And civil-union laws
endorse and sanction that distortion by suggesting that homosexual
relationships are equivalent to marriage.”
Conley went on to urge Catholics to
join a Colorado Catholic Conference campaign opposing the move.
Opposing the bill “protects children,
protects marriage and, ultimately, protects the common good of all of
us.”
Last year, a civil unions bill died in
a Republican-controlled House committee after the Senate had approved
the measure. Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment
banning gay marriage in 2006.
The bill is expected to be reintroduced
this year.
(Related: Group
of Colorado Republicans endorse civil unions for gay couples.)