Cardinal Francis George, the leader of
the Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, is speaking out against
Illinois' gay marriage bill just days before Governor Pat Quinn is
set to sign the bill into law.
George warned of consequences for the
church and society in a letter he asked to be placed in all church
bulletins throughout the Chicago Archdiocese on Sunday, according to
NBC
Chicago.
“There will be consequences for the
Church and society that will become clearer as the law is used to sue
for discrimination,” George wrote to parishioners. “The law has
made some gays and lesbians happy, and that is not a bad thing in
itself. The law, however, is bad law because it will contribute over
the long run to the further dissolution of marriage and family life,
which are the bedrock of any society.”
Quinn
is set to sign the bill into law on Wednesday.
During the debate in the House, Speaker
Mike Madigan referred to Pope Francis' response to gay clergy: “Who
am I to judge?”
Without mentioning Madigan by name,
George, a vocal opponent of allowing gay couples to marry, said that
it was dishonest to use the pope's words to support marriage
equality.
“The Pope was not speaking about
approving gay marriage,” George said. “To use his words against
his teaching, as they were used on the floor of the State House of
Representatives on November 5, is less than intellectually honest.”
(Related: IL
Bishop Thomas Paprocki says marrying for gays in sin; plans
exorcism.)