Jesuit magazine defends Vatican document opposing gay marriages

Published: 2004-02-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In defense of a recent Vatican document against "gay marriage," an influential Jesuit journal said homosexuals deserve respect and understanding but that legally recognizing their unions would cause "grave damage" to society. The magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, said in its Feb. 7 issue that recent research confirms homosexuality as a condition clearly outside the limits of "normal" sexuality, with likely biological causes. "This situation, it should be underlined, does not imply any responsibility or, even less, condemnation for those who find themselves involuntarily and truly in such a condition," the article said. "The Catholic Church is not against people who experience a state of suffering when ... the orientation of the potent force that renders them 'man' or 'woman' becomes altered," it said. "However, when faced with certain trends in society, the church feels a duty to remind political leaders of the risks of grave damage that would result from conceding to homosexual couples the rights proper to marriage between a man and a woman," it said. The document is titled "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons."

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