Bishops Respond To Obama's Opposition

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Bishops Respond To Obama's Opposition

Special Report - March 23, 2012
President Obama’s public opposition to the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment that will be on the May 8 primary ballot in North Carolina is a “grave disappointment,” according to a the Catholic Bishops of Raleigh and Charlotte. In an email to supporters dated March 21, The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh, and The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, responded to the Obama campaign’s statement last week that the President opposes the proposed amendment because he considers it “discriminatory” and “divisive.”

In their response, Bishops Burbidge and Jugis noted that President Obama’s statement “is reported to be the first time that the President has entered into this issue on the state level, further escalating the increasing confusion on the part of some in our society to the very nature of marriage itself.” The Bishops went on to describe the Catholic Church’s position on marriage as “a vocation in which God calls couples to faithfully and permanently embrace a fruitful union in a mutual self-giving bond of love, according to His purposes.” They add that, “Children have the right to the indispensable place of fatherhood and motherhood in their lives as they grow, are loved, nurtured and formed by those whose unique vocation it is to be a father and a mother through the bond of one man and one woman in marriage.”

The Bishops wrote that they “strongly disagree” with the Obama campaign’s description of the Marriage Protection Amendment “as a matter of discrimination.” They quoted a recent statement by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who said, “The Catholic Church recognizes the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals, including those with same-sex attraction, and we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person. Our profound regard for marriage, as the complementary and fruitful union of a man and a woman, does not negate our concern for the well-being of all people, but reinforces it. While all persons merit our full respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what marriage between husband and wife provides.”

In related news, a new WRAL news poll shows that voters in North Carolina support the Marriage Protection Amendment by a 5 to 3 margin. The poll of likely voters, which was conducted by SurveyUSA for WRAL TV, found that 58 percent of respondents would vote “for” the amendment, while 36 percent would vote “against” it, and six percent are undecided. According to WRAL, the “poll shows the amendment has broad support across most segments of the population,” with “over 60 percent of men and 55 percent of women” and “62 percent of white voters, and 56 percent of black voters” saying they will vote for it. The WRAL poll is the latest poll of likely voters in the state that uses the actual language of the proposed ballot question to find strong support for the Marriage Protection Amendment.