In a 2-to-1 decision the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, decided last week that federal marriage legislation passed by a Republican Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” was unconstitutional because it failed to give equal protection to New York spouses in same-sex marriages.
This follows on an earlier decision by the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled last May in favor of same-sex couples in Massachusetts, challenging what they argued was the discriminatory nature of the legislation.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage expressed his disappoint at the decision, stating "redefining marriage never upholds the equal dignity of individuals because it contradicts basic human rights,” The reality that marriage can only be the union of one man and one woman is well grounded in natural law as well as in Catholic Church teaching. For justices to suggest that marriage between one man and one woman is an instrument of discrimination is utter foolishness that not only ignores but also defies the reality of marriage itself.
The sanctity of marriage must be protected and respected in the law and not undermined by overreaching and radical judicial decisions. The common good of citizens across the nation have been ill-served by the two Federal Justices of New York who chose to blatantly defy reality and undermine the bedrock of our culture: one man and one woman marriage. We live in hope that the wisdom of the nine justices on high, the Supreme Court, might soon right this very wrong view of reality.
