What The Catholic Church Says About Marriage
"Moral conscience requires that, in every occasion, Christians give witness to the whole moral truth… to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral… respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."
~ Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (#5, #10)
According to the Catholic Church, marriage is a permanent bond – a sacrament – instituted by God. It is a covenant between a man and a woman. And its purpose is to be fruitful. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says specifically about these three:
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Between And Man And A Woman
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“God himself is the author of marriage. The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution...” (#1603)
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Intended To Be Fruitful
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“Since God created… man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man… And this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful…” (#1604)
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Unbreakable Union
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Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another… ‘Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.’ The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been ‘in the beginning’...’they are no longer two, but one flesh.’” (#1605)
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Redefining Marriage
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Over the last several years there has been a push in the modern world to redefine marriage apart from God’s design by allowing same sex unions. The Catechism clearly outlines where the Church has always stood on the issue of homosexuality.
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“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex… They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (#2357)
What the Doctrine of the Faith Says
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In 1994, the Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later named Pope Benedict XVI), clarified the Church’s unchanging position in the document titled, Considerations Regarding Proposals To Give Legal Recognition To Unions Between Homosexual Persons. Below are a few important notes from the document but it is recommended that Catholic voters read the document in its entirety.
“Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman…” (#2)
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“There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family.” (#4)
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“Moral conscience requires that, in every occasion, Christians give witness to the whole moral truth, which is contradicted both by approval of homosexual acts and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons.” (#5)
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“In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty. One must refrain from any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws and, as far as possible, from material cooperation on the level of their application. In this area, everyone can exercise the right to conscientious objection.” (#5)
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Regarding Catholic politicians: “When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral… When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is already in force, the Catholic politician must oppose it in the ways that are possible for him and make his opposition known…” (#10)
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“The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society. Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. The Church cannot fail to defend these values, for the good of men and women and for the good of society itself. (#11)
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In his Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons Cardinal Ratzinger also wrote, “All support should be withdrawn from any organizations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely.”
Where The Democratic Candidates Stand
Democratic Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, has a long history supporting gay marriage.
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In 2013, Attorney General Harris declined to defend Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure that would have outlawed same-sex marriage in California.
"What I would love to see is the highest court in the land ultimately make a decision, and the right decision," Harris told The Advocate in June 2012. "That would be to find that Prop. 8 is a violation of equal protection under the Constitution, and to stop denying LGBT people the right to marry."
On June 26 of that year she declared that every county in the State of California must now recognize the right of same sex couples to legally marry and asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift its stay and allow same-sex marriages to take place.
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“The Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Hollingsworth v. Perry means that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to be legally married in all of California’s 58 counties,” Harris said.
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She has filed multiple amicus briefs defending same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry. And on December 1, 2022 President Biden and Vice President Harris met in front of various media outlets for the signing of H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act enabling gay marriage. Here, Kamala proudly recalled the week of Valentine’s Day 2004 as California Attorney General, “when I had the honor to stand in San Francisco City Hall and perform some of our country’s first marriages of same-sex couples.”
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Then she added, “And, of course, then, let us think about today: December 13, 2022, a day when… we finally protect marriage rights in federal law… For millions of LGBTQI+ Americans... this is a victory. And it is part of a larger fight. The Dobbs decision reminds us that fundamental rights are interconnected, including the right to marry who you love, the right to access contraception, and the right to make decisions about your own body.”
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Walz On Homosexuality and Marriage
Walz was an early supporter of marriage equality, including it in his platform for his 2006 Congressional campaign.
Though it wouldn't be signed until 2022 by President Joe Biden, Walz was one of the first supporters of the Respect For Marriage Act, which was first proposed in 2009. The landmark law protects the right for same-sex and interracial couples to marry.
As a social studies teacher at Mankato West High School in 1999, he advised the school’s first gay-straight alliance (GSA) club.
After book bans occurred in 42 states, the majority targeting books with LGBTQ+ content, Walz signed a law that prevents public and school libraries from removing books “based solely on the viewpoint, content, message, idea, or opinion conveyed.”
Where The Republican Candidates Stand
Former President Donald Trump has not put forth much information regarding the issue of homosexual unions.
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​In fact, the only thing President Trump mentioned about marriage in his platform outline, titled 'Make America Great Again!' published on July 7, 2024, is his efforts to “Empower American Families,” stating republicans will “promote a culture that values the sanctity of marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents. We will end policies that punish families.”
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Though he hasn't "said" much, it may be important to note that he also hasn't "done" much for same sex unions in the way the Kamala Harris has. So perhaps, with this issue, Catholics may want to ask themselves if his inaction (or her action) aligns more with Church teaching.
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What's more, when considering presidential candidates, it is important to not only consider whether that candidate will uphold church teaching, but also (and perhaps more importantly), will that candidate uphold my right to live according to my Church's teaching when it comes to these matters? Or will the laws imposed on me by that candidate force me to violate my conscience? Could the government someday try to force me to support same sex unions in my workplace or with my money? Could it try to force my Church to do so?
Here is where it is important to also consider the candidates stance on religious liberty. Click here for more information on this.
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Scriptures on Homosexuality
Mark 10:6-9
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.
1 Corinthians
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Jude 1:7
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
1 Timothy 1:10
The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine
Romans 1:26-28
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.