Roman Catholic Archbishop Salvatore
Cordileone of San Francisco has decried passage of a gay marriage law
in Rhode Island.
On Thursday, hundreds of jubilant
supporters joined independent Governor Lincoln Chafee as he signed
the bill into law, making Rhode Island the 10th state to
legalize gay nuptials.
(Related: Gay
groups cheer Rhode Island gay marriage; And a video, too.)
In a statement issued the following
day, Cordileone described the law, which takes effect August 1, as “a
serious injustice.”
“The meaning of marriage cannot be
redefined, because its meaning lies in our very nature,” said
Cordileone in a blog
post at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB)
Marriage Unique for a Reason website. “Therefore, regardless of
what law is enacted, marriage remains the union of one man and one
woman – by the very design of nature, it cannot be otherwise.”
Cordileone, who heads the USCCB's
Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, added that
such unions hurt children.
“Marriage is the only institution
that unites a man and a woman to each other and to any child
conceived of their union. While those making great sacrifices to
raise their children in less than ideal circumstances need and
deserve our love and support, we cannot claim to have a just society
if we do not look out for the most vulnerable among us: children.
That means preserving in the law the principle that every child
deserves a mother and father united in marriage. That means
supporting in our institutions and in our culture the true and unique
meaning of marriage,” Cordileone said.
Earlier, Rhode
Island Bishop Thomas Tobin warned Catholics against attending gay
weddings.