Sea Change

by Fred Vilbig

I feel compelled to write an article about the Supreme Court’s recent decision on same-sex “marriage”, Obergefell v. Hodges.

It is not because I believe the decision was profoundly wrong for moral reasons, which I will assert to anyone. The Court has made and will continue to make bad decisions. See, Dred Scott v. Sandford.

It is not because the opinion (which I’ve admittedly only read once very quickly) reads more like a college sociology paper than a legal opinion. Legal opinions start by analyzing prior law and reach a conclusion. College sociology papers start with a stated position, and then seek to justify it. The Supreme Court’s opinion reads a lot like the latter.

Rather, I feel compelled to write about the decision’s basic holding and the threat it poses to faithful Catholics and other faithful Christians. What the Court holds is that people of the same sex have a constitutional right to marry. The reverse of this statement is that it is unconstitutional to deny a person the right to marry someone of the same sex. This a sea change.


Hate Speech
When something is held to be unconstitutional, there are consequences. Unconstitutional actions can result in fines, loss of government benefits or privileges, or even imprisonment. For instance, statements against a person’s “constitutional rights” can be treated as “hate speech.”

One of the symbols used to promote what is called “marriage equality” (a masterful misnomer) is an equal sign (“=”). If a person wants to exercise their right to free speech, an unequal sign (“≠”) on a bumper sticker could be considered hate speech. Arguably, the owner of the car could be prosecuted.

To some, this may seem far-fetched, but consider the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Oregon bakery owners who were fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a “wedding” cake for a gay couple. That seems pretty extreme for someone just trying to live out their faith. And I don’t think that will be the last of these types of attacks.

Tax Exemption
Although the case is not currently in the courts to my knowledge, I think it is not too hard to imagine a lawsuit challenging the tax exemption of the Catholic Church (or any other faithful Christian denomination or congregation) for its refusal to conduct same-sex “marriages.” In 1983, Bob Jones University lost its tax-exempt status due to a policy prohibiting interracial marriage. I am not in any way condoning that policy, but the reasoning of the IRS should concern us. The IRS argued that the privilege of a tax exemption should not be extended to an organization violating the constitutional rights of a group of people. I could easily see this principle being used against the Catholic Church (and others) to end its tax exemption, the value of which substantially benefits the poor.

In order to avoid this dilemma, there has been some discussion among the US Catholic bishops regarding some changes in how Catholics would get married. The Church would follow the Mexican model. In Mexico the state issues a marriage license while the Church simply blesses the marriage. This may only be a technical change (you get your marriage license before you go to church), but it would be significant.

A Carrot
It should be noted that Justice Kennedy included in the majority opinion a statement that the First Amendment will protect “religious organizations and persons” if they teach that same-sex “marriages” are contrary to God’s will.

This paragraph, although nicely worded, is useless. It has nothing to do with the facts that were before the Court. This is what is referred to as “dicta,” which is just a judge talking. It is not controlling at all. It is just Justice Kennedy’s random thoughts.

Action Plan
So where to from here? First, Jesus told us not to judge others lest we be judged by God. Matthew 7:1. In addition, Jesus told us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Matthew 5:44. So we do not judge the individuals, and we pray for those who may persecute us.

As faithful Catholics and other Christians, however, I’m not sure that this is enough. If you are on the side of a frozen lake watching someone walk out onto thin ice and do nothing, I believe that you are morally responsible if the ice breaks, they sink into the chilling water, and drown. I think it is incredibly uncharitable, if not even hateful, to stand by and watch as someone slides into hell. Hell is a horrible place.

However, we want our actions to be both charitable and effective. Lecturing people typically does nothing. Pride gets in the way on both sides of the discussion. Although I think each of us should be ready to discuss our concerns regarding the grave consequences of homosexual actions, we are all called upon to pray for the conversion of sinners and to live our lives consistent with the Gospel that we proclaim. Our actions speak much louder than our words.

Hope and Pray
There will be dark days ahead of us, but trust in God. The Church has been through tough times before.

On the obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) had the following words inscribed:

“Christus vincit, regnat, imperat: ab omni malo plemem suam defendat.”

In English, this means, “Christ conquers, He reigns, He commands; He defends His people from all evil.” It is good to remember that no matter how dark things may seem to us, He is still God, and the forces of evil will not prevail.

DO NOT LOSE HOPE.  GOD WINS.  Just keep praying.