Gay Catholics Blast NJ Bishops

A gay Roman Catholic group has denounced a letter that New Jersey Catholic bishops circulated in opposition to marriage equality.

"Whatever the New Jersey bishops are trying to do around the issue of marriage has nothing to do with justice," reads a statement from the Rainbow Sash Movement. "One of the most basic concepts that underline all Catholic teaching is that 'All people are entitled to equality of rights regardless of their situation.' This fundamental position cannot be dismissed in the name of religious rigidity. To do so is to throw foundational Catholic tradition out the window in the name of intolerance and the narrowness of dogma."

Late last month New Jersey bishops asked priests to read or distribute a letter asking parishioners to pray that the state legislature would not approve marriage rights for gay couples. The bishops called the possibility of same-sex marriage "one of the most serious challenges" to the traditional definition of marriage. The state senate is expected to vote on a marriage equality bill this week, after which the assembly would consider it.

The Rainbow Sash statement calls on priests to reject homophobia and says that "to define marriage solely by biology puts marriage on the same level as a breeder trying to produce more offspring rather than an act of love. It is not the time to marginalize same-sex couples who through marriage can provide a stable home life not only for themselves, but also for child/children who find themselves without a home." The group cites the nationwide scandal involving sexual abuse of children by priests in saying, "The New Jersey bishops are ill prepared to make any legal decisions on anything pertaining to children."