Archbishop saddened by same-sex marriages, but warns against anger

Published: 2004-05-17

BOSTON (CNS) -- Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley of Boston greeted the arrival of legalized same-sex marriages in Massachusetts with "deep sadness" but reminded Catholics that "our sadness at what has happened should not lead us into anger against or vilification of any group of people, especially our homosexual brothers and sisters." Hundreds of same-sex couples went to courthouses throughout Massachusetts to get marriage licenses May 17, the day the Supreme Judicial Court ruled the state had to begin granting the licenses to same-sex couples because it found the ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. "The Catholic Church remains committed to the truth that marriage is a unique bond between a wife and a husband, a bond which is the bedrock and foundation of our families and society," the archbishop said in a May 13 statement. He expressed hope that "at some point in the very near future, our legislators will enact laws to protect the unique benefit to society that the marital bond creates and the good that this bond produces for children."

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