Rhode Island shouldn’t follow Massachusetts’ wrongful lead

Posted

To the editor:

I want to thank Bishop Thomas J. Tobin for the lead he has taken in opposing the legalization of marriage between homosexuals. He has courageously upheld and explained Catholic doctrine and that held by all other religious traditions until recent years.

In his column of November 1, Bishop Tobin points out that if the state of Rhode Island were to allow gay marriage, the legal ramifications would extend far beyond the effects on the couples recognized. I would add one significant requirement that likely would be mandated: The schools will be compelled to teach school children that the gay life-style is normal, natural, and as worthy of approval as the norm that God commanded from the beginning. God, however, will have no say.

In Lexington, Massachusetts, a second grade teacher read the book King & King to his class. The story is about a prince who weds a male suitor instead of a princess. Parents who filed suit because they were not notified (as required by the Massachusetts sex education law) that that their children would be read the book were turned down by a federal judge. School officials explained that Massachusetts law required them to teach about all types of marriage. If Rhode Island follows Massachusetts in approving gay marriage, public school children will be taught that such unions are as good as heterosexual ones. Will the state then require Catholic schools to teach the same?

Niles J. Madsen

Warwick