StarBulletin.com

Civil unions support has basis in Gospels


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POSTED: Friday, February 26, 2010

I am Catholic, heterosexual and in a traditional loving marriage. I believe that one of the central messages of the Gospels is its inclusiveness and its constant reminder that God is to be found in all of humanity. I believe the strong, unmistakable call to social justice in the Gospel stories should move Catholics in Hawaii, as a matter of conscience, to support House Bill 444.

The Incarnation — the mystery of the Word made Flesh — is not exclusive to heterosexuals any more than redemption is a pass reserved for the Good Catholics Club. We diminish the Divine when we invoke God to deny others what simple justice should compel us to provide.

Let's be clear: HB 444 would grant legal recognition to civil unions between same-sex couples. It is not marriage. It should not threaten the matrimony as a sacrament any more than civil rights for African-Americans and women threatened the rights of white males. It is an act of social justice long overdue in the land of aloha.

To assert that “;civil unions”; is “;simply a euphemism for same-sex marriage,”; as Bishop Larry Silva does, and then attack it because it does not fit the traditional view of marriage, is to confuse the issue. It leads Catholics to a choice that even the most traditional of them do not have to make.

Bishop Silva's letter to Catholics in Honolulu acknowledges that “;every person, no matter his or her sexual orientation, is worthy of dignity and respect and has certain inalienable rights given by the Creator.”; He goes on, however, to argue that “;there is no right for people of the same sex to call their unions marriage.”; Gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual couples are not calling their unions “;marriage.”; They are, however, among us, they are not going to disappear anytime soon, they are citizens of the United States and they are entitled to the same legal protections as other citizens. It is wrong to invoke religion to deny some groups the rights that the secular laws of the land should provide to all.

Bishop Silva cautions that we “;should not make decisions now that ignore our social environment.”; Our “;social environment”; manifestly includes gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual couples. Bishop Silva is right. We should not ignore them or ask them to live any longer without the protections the rest of us enjoy.

I am proud to call myself Catholic and to have access to a Catholic intellectual and religious tradition that helps us to grow into a fuller humanity. Passing HB 444 would attest to that tradition, a tradition that teaches us to love God by loving our neighbor. It would be consistent with the example Christ left us in the Gospels of welcoming even those looked at with disfavor by the religious establishment.

The only issue Catholics should be concerned about relative to HB 444 is the issue of justice. People who are not heterosexuals are asking to be treated equally under the law. Both Christianity and the rights of citizenship make this something everyone should support. That lawmakers in the House failed to do so even after the bill passed out of the Senate with a strong majority is something that can yet be corrected, if they can summon the courage, in the words of the Gospel, to “;be not afraid.”;

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Dawn Morais Webster is president and chief executive of Loomis-ISC, a marketing firm in Honolulu.