Bishop William Lori of the Bridgeport Dioceses came to Fairfield University this past Sunday to hold mass and speak to educators and students but failed to mention the controversy that now surrounds him concerning a letter he recently sent out to all churches in the dioceses.
This letter urged all Roman Catholics in the dioceses to sign a petition opposing same-sex marriages after their masses this month. It was to be read to all Fairfield County Catholics attending last weekend’s masses.
In this letter Lori claims that, “same-sex legislation will violate our civil rights.” He quotes Pope John Paul II in saying, “[Marriage] is [for] the well being of the spouses and the procreation and upbringing of children. Only such a union can be recognized and ratified as a marriage in society.”
What Lori failed to mention in this letter is that, if civil marriage becomes available to same-sex couples, religious institutions will still have the right to deny marriage to whomever they deem unfit or undesirable, as they do already. A legislative decision cannot change the rules of a particular faith.
Although Fairfield University has a chapel on campus, the university did not receive this letter. The university did not receive a letter because it is not considered to be a parish by the Bridgeport Dioceses. Additionally, even though the letter was supposed to be read to all Fairfield County Catholics, Lori did not read nor mention the issue while on campus.
A professor here at Fairfield, who prefers to remain unnamed, was relieved that Lori did not read his letter on campus, and said, “[reading the letter would be] offensive because Fairfield University stands for tolerance and diversity.”
The petitions, which are to be sent to the General Assembly of the Connecticut Legislature, read, “We, the undersigned, oppose the passage of any legislation that seeks to redefine marriage and request that you do the same. Further, we expect you, as an elected representative of the people of Connecticut, to honor our votes and our values, and to protect the institution of marriage by supporting the following Connecticut Defense of Marriage Act: ‘Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Connecticut. Any other relationship shall not be recognized as a marriage or its legal equivalent, nor shall it receive the benefits or incidents exclusive to marriage from the state of Connecticut.'”
Along with the Catholic Church, this petition is also supported by the Family Institute of Connecticut, a non-partisan, non-profit Connecticut public policy organization. The organization’s mission is “to encourage and strengthen the family as the foundation of society and to promote sound, ethical and moral values in our culture and government.”
The petition can be found on the Family Institute’s website (www.ctfamily.org).
There are also groups opposed to this petition and the actions of the Catholic Church concerning this matter. One such group is Love Makes A Family (www.lmfct.org), a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals working to expand Connecticut’s marriage laws to include same-gender couples.
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