SF Archbishop Cordileone to Stand up for Marriage & Children in Washington DC Tuesday

God Bless our good Archbishop, and be sure to read the interview with him in USA Today!

On Tuesday, March 26, as the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments on the Proposition 8 case, San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will join thousands of people at the March for Marriage in Washington DC. His Excellency is the Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. The march is ecumenical in the extreme: His Excellency will be joined by (among others) Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage; Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute; Dr. Jim Garlow of the Skyline Wesleyan Church; Democratic New York State Senator (and Reverend) Rubén Díaz; the Reverend Bill Owens, Chairman of the Coalition of African American Pastors; and Dr. Robert George of Princeton University. The march will also be joined by openly bisexual/gay same-sex “marriage” opponents Robert Oscar Lopez and Doug Mainwaring. Among the numerous co-sponsors of the March is Manif Pour Tous à Washington DC (March for All of Washington DC), the French group which brought a million defenders of marriage into the streets of Paris in January.

March speakers will highlight the unintended consequences of same-sex “marriage” on children. In 2008, then-Bishop Cordileone appeared in the Marriage Matters to Kids video, created to support the campaign for California’s Proposition 8. In his appearance, Bishop Cordileone asked a question and made a point that is being heard more and more frequently:

“Children need a mother and a father. Children long for a mother and a father when they don’t have them. If a child grows up without one or the other how are you going to tell that child that having a father isn't important, or having a mother isn't important? By virtue of biology we need a man and a woman to bring a child into the world. It’s a logical consistency of design that a child needs a mother and a father to grow up in the best possible context.”

As noted, a number of same-sex attracted persons will be joining the march. The Archbishop’s point was echoed earlier this year by the openly bisexual author and father Robert Oscar Lopez, when he testified before the Minnesota legislature. In describing his experience of growing up in a household with two “moms” Mr. Lopez said that he loved both women who raised him very much, but he also said:

 “I could not be true to myself or my obligation to society if I did anything to encourage other children to be placed in such homes.”

Another same-sex attracted man who will be speaking at the March is Doug Mainwaring, co-founder of the National Capital Tea Party Patriots. In a March 20 article at The Public Discourse, Mr. Mainwaring opened by saying:

“In our sometimes misguided efforts to expand our freedom, selfish adults have systematically dismantled that which is most precious to children as they grow and develop. That’s why I am now speaking out against same-sex marriage. By the way, I am gay.”

Mainwaring continued: “Genderless marriage now enjoys an aura of equality and fairness, which suggests that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment had same-sex marriages in mind as they penned their magnificent giant leap forward for humanity. While this situation is highly unlikely, those who selfishly seek additional ‘rights’ for themselves have found their justification in the penumbra they now sense surrounding legitimate civil rights.

Same-sex marriage will not expand rights and freedoms in our nation. It will not redefine marriage. It will undefine it.

This isn't the first time our society has undefined marriage. No-fault divorce, instituted all across our country, sounded like a good idea at the time. Its unintended consequence was that it changed forever the definition of marriage from a permanent relationship between spouses to a temporary one. Sadly, children became collateral damage in the selfish pursuits of adults.

Same-sex marriage will do the same, depriving children of their right to either a mom or a dad. This is not a small deal. Children are being reduced to chattel-like sources of fulfillment.”

On Tuesday, attendees will gather at the National Mall at 8:30 AM. At 9:30 they will begin marching to the Supreme Court and then will return to the Mall. At 11AM the Rally will begin. The USCCB asks all who cannot attend to join in their Prayer for the Defense of Marriage:

God our Father, we give you thanks 

for the gift of marriage: the bond of life and love, 

and the font of the family. 

The love of husband and wife enriches your Church with children,

fills the world with a multitude of spiritual fruitfulness and service,

and is the sign of the love of your Son, Jesus Christ, for his Church. 

The grace of Jesus flowed forth at Cana at the

request of the Blessed Mother. May your Son,

through the intercession of Mary, pour out upon us

a new measure of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

as we join with all people of good will

to promote and protect the unique beauty of marriage. 

May your Holy Spirit enlighten our society

to treasure the heroic love of husband and wife,

and guide our leaders to sustain and protect

the singular place of mothers and fathers

in the lives of their children. 

Father, we ask that our prayers

be joined to those of the Virgin Mary,

that your Word may transform our service

so as to safeguard the incomparable splendor of marriage.

We ask all these things through Christ our Lord,

Amen. 

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney