Bishops to Address Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage -- opposition to it, that is -- will be high on the agenda when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops begins its national meeting Monday in Baltimore.

The bishops want to see, among other things, broader religious exemptions from marriage equality and civil union laws, the Associated Press reports, noting New York State's marriage equality law and Illinois's civil union statute, both of which went into effect this year.

The AP reports that the Catholic hierarchy considers itself "under siege: from a broader culture moving toward accepting gay marriage; a White House they often condemn as hostile to Catholic teaching; and state legislatures that church leaders say are chipping away at religious liberty."

Some activists say the bishops are overreacting. "John Gehring of Faith in Public Life, an advocacy network for more liberal religious voters, has argued that in a pluralistic society, government officials can choose policies that differ from church teaching without prejudice being a factor," the AP notes.

Abortion and contraception are also priority items for the bishops, but some observers say they should be paying more attention to economic issues, such as fighting poverty. Read the full report here.