Marriage Protection Amendment Press Conference

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson talks with Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville, Tenn., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family at a June 5 White House briefing on the Marriage Protection Amendment.

It is an honor to have the opportunity to be part of this press conference to promote the Marriage Protection Amendment. I wish to thank Matt Daniels, President of the Alliance for Marriage Foundation, for organizing it. I also thank Senator Bill Frist from my home state of Tennessee for hosting this event and for his support of the Marriage Protection Amendment.

In September of 2003 the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affirmed that the Federal Marriage Amendment is consistent with the Church’s teaching that marriage is exclusively the union of a man and a woman. Moreover, the bishops saw it as their duty “to promote, preserve, and protect marriage as it is willed by God, as generations have understood and lived it, and as it has served the common good of society.”

To this end, they adopted a strategy of education and advocacy about the importance of marriage and its protection.
On March 27, 2006, Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote to all the Catholic bishops of the country to urge them again to support the amendment, and to “stand publicly in support of marriage as the God-given union of a man and a woman.

Moreover, he asked the bishops to work with the Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic men’s organization, which has launched a nation-wide postcard campaign in support of the federal amendment. Their assistance has been crucial to the effort.

There is a growing sense among many people, including a wide range of religious leaders, that a Marriage Protection Amendment is the only federal-level action that will ultimately protect and preserve the institution of marriage. I am here today to support the amendment.

The teachings of the Catholic Church place the highest value on the love between a man and a woman in marriage. Pope Benedict underscored this in his first encyclical letter (Deus Caritas Est) when he described the marital union as “the very epitome of love…where body and soul are inseparably joined together and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness.”

While religious convictions such as these motivate me, I am also motivated by the awareness that the gift of marriage between one man and one woman is a natural right, one written in the hearts of human beings. It is an essential building block of society. Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, marriage does not originate from either the church or the state, but from God. Therefore, we – church or state – are not free to alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage.

Marriage is necessary for the strength of families and for the well-being of society. It contributes to society in two important ways: by providing a means for men and women to live in a committed, loving, interdependent relationship and by creating the best environment for bringing children into the world and caring for them. Marriage makes a unique contribution to the common good of society. To defend it is not an act of unjust discrimination, but rather a stand in favor of what is right and just.

To adopt a constitutional amendment is a serious and lengthy process. It requires principled thought, pragmatic effort, and a spirit of perseverance. It is a journey that allows for consciences to be formed along the way and for people to express their convictions. My conviction is that the journey should begin. And so it is my privilege to urge passage of the Marriage Protection Amendment when it comes before the United States Senate in early June.

Thank you.