Providence bishop speaks out on talk radio against same-sex marriage

Published: 2007-03-02

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) -- Saying he feels a strong obligation to speak out on issues of moral and cultural import, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence took to the airwaves of a local AM radio talk show Feb. 23, and for an hour discussed why same-sex marriage is not marriage and why homosexual behavior can never be accepted or condoned. The bishop's remarks were a continuation of his response to an opinion issued Feb. 20 and made public the next day, on Ash Wednesday, by Attorney General Patrick Lynch stating that "Rhode Island will recognize a same-sex marriage lawfully performed in Massachusetts as a marriage in Rhode Island." In a Feb. 22 statement the bishop said marriage is "a union of one man and one woman" as "instituted by God, blessed by the church and affirmed by every culture throughout the ages." He said, "The state should not be in the business of supporting other lifestyles or promoting immoral, unnatural sexual activity," which was the "net effect" of Lynch's opinion.

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