Commitment to the Institution of Marriage

Resolution adopted Aug. 5, 2004,by Knights of Columbus meeting at their 122nd annual meeting in Dallas.

WHEREAS, several state and provincial courts in the United States and Canada have reinterpreted constitutional provisions in such a way as to require legal recognition of same-sex marriages; and

WHEREAS, there is now serious risk that an effort by advocates of same-sex marriage to win similar rulings in courts in other jurisdictions will succeed, and that in the U.S. the federal Defense of Marriage Act may not withstand a constitutional challenge; and

WHEREAS, the Catholic Church teaches that only a union of male and female can express the sexual complementarity willed by God for marriage, and that there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to Gods plan for marriage and family; and

WHEREAS, a constitutional amendment is the only sure way to prevent courts from discovering a right to same-sex marriage where before there was none;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that we join with the bishops of the United States in supporting enactment of the Federal Marriage Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 40, and with the bishops of Canada in opposition to legislation that would redefine marriage to include same-sex couples, and pledge our active support of these efforts.

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