Yesterday, two Catholic legislators from Massachusetts sought to justify their support for same-sex marriage by citing their religious convictions. Representative Marie P. St. Fleur said that her conclusion was “coming from a place of faith,” and Senator Marian Walsh confessed that it is her “faith” that gave her the “clarity” she needed to make this decision.
Catholic League president William Donohue was unimpressed:
“These two Massachusetts lawmakers are free to come to any conclusion they want on the issue of gay marriage, but they look rather foolish seeking support for their position by citing their fidelity to Catholicism: there is nothing in Catholic teaching that lends credence to their belief. It would have been more honest to simply say they reject the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“Representative St. Fleur says that her faith taught her not to ‘ostracize people because they [are] different from me.’ Senator Walsh is even more profound, opining that ‘God didn’t make any mistakes’ in his creations. But sentimentality is a poor substitute for reason, and it is especially embarrassing when elected officials partake in such nonsense.
“Both of these politicians were honored yesterday by the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, a motley liberal crew of mainline Protestants and Jews who reject biblical teachings on marriage, the family and sexuality. It is with this group that St. Fleur and Walsh are most at home, not with the Catholic Church. After all, it is they who have voluntarily decided to ostracize themselves from the Church.
“Catholics outside of Massachusetts may wonder what kind of potion Catholic lawmakers have been imbibing there. To put it another way, when Ted Kennedy and John Kerry are made to look orthodox, there is something mighty suspicious going on.”
