MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN – On behalf of the diocesan Catholic bishops in the state, including Bishop John Doerfler of the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan Catholic Conference will file an amicus brief this afternoon with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to defend the 2004 voter-approved amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The Michigan Marriage Amendment, which nearly 2.7 million voters supported in 2004, was strongly endorsed by the Michigan bishops. The Catholic Conference’s brief will be filed in support of the state’s effort to appeal a lower court’s ruling that found the Michigan Marriage Amendment unconstitutional.
Also today, a legal brief in support of the state’s case will be filed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and joined by the National Association of Evangelicals; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; and Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
Bishop Doerfler said, “We will continue to welcome those with same-sex attraction into the Catholic Church. All members of the human family possess a God-given dignity and must be respected, cared for and loved. We will also continue to defend the institution of marriage, which is a special relationship between one man and one woman. This environment, which is grounded in nature, is the best one in which to raise children and thus serves the common good.”
According to Michigan Catholic Conference President and CEO Paul A. Long, “We have made this legal contribution to preserve and promote the time-honored institution of marriage that brings male and female together in a unique way for children and for the common good. The Catholic Church holds strong to her teachings that those with same-sex attraction should be accepted with respect and sensitivity, and that marriage can only be recognized as the union of one man and one woman. The legal briefs to be filed today make clear that support for natural marriage does not impugn the dignity that must be afforded to all human persons, regardless of their orientation.”
Below are key points made in the Michigan Catholic Conference legal brief:
· “… Michigan’s citizens did not vote to ban same-sex marriage. They voted to not permit the redefinition of marriage. They voted that marriage will retain its biological requirement of a male-female union rooted not just in tradition but in nature.”
· “Here, through the democratic process, Michigan voters reaffirmed the traditional view of marriage. Even assuming the People’s choice reflected only a policy choice that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman, that policy choice cannot, in this action, be cast aside in favor of the ascendant views of a currently popular minority.”
· “To attribute the People’s rational choice in protecting and promoting this institution, which by its nature is ordered towards our survival, to the mere disapproval or animus toward homosexuality is to disregard the People’s collective wisdom that marriage is for the public good.”
On May 7th the Office of Attorney General filed its legal brief in defense of the Michigan Marriage Amendment. Plaintiffs in the case (DeBoer v. Snyder) are expected to file their legal brief in early June. Once briefing has concluded, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is expected to set a date for oral arguments. Michigan Catholic Conference’s legal brief and that of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and national religious organizations will be available at www.micatholic.org after they are filed with the court.
Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.
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