An Ecumenical Ministry in the Parish of St Patrick's Catholic Church In San Diego USA

米国サンディエゴの聖パトリックカトリック教会教区におけるエキュメニカル宣教

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

SEPARATE CHURCH AND STATE MARRIAGES



Is it time to separate church and state marriages?
Instead of getting all tied in knots about same-sex marriage, the church should separate itself from the state when it comes to officiating civil marriages.

Given the shift in marriage's civil legal definition to include same-sex couples, it is time that Catholic conversations about the issue recognize that we are talking about two different realities when we use the word "marriage"--a legal contract on the civil side, and a sacramental covenant between two baptized people on the other--and adjust our practice accordingly. Doing so would allow Catholics to have a fruitful intramural conversation about our theological understanding of the sacrament of marriage without at the same time being entangled in the question of whether families and couples that don't fit that vision should have access to the legal benefits and duties that go with its civil parallel. Read more.

What do you think? Should priests still be signing marriage licenses? Or are the ties between a sacramental marriage and a legal one unraveling in our current culture? Take our survey and let us know! 


 

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