“Hands off the children,” “Let’s protect the kids,” “Babies are not a whim,” “Let us think first of the rights of the little ones.” The homophobic rhetoric often speaks of children and their good, that it reduces to the need to protect them from the clutches of homosexuals and so to the moral duty not to recognise the families born around two people of the same sex. As countless scientific researches showed and as the LGBTQIA associations rightly explain, in reality, the absence of legal recognition can create serious problems for children. Who wants to protect them should start by protecting their families – no matter how they are composed.
Catholic openness
It doesn’t mean assuming politically correct stands, but simply facing reality. A good example is the Diocese of Basel, in German-speaking Switzerland. “It is important to us that children who grow up in same-sex partnerships receive a legal framework that serves the best interests of the child,” explained a spokesman. So the local Catholic Church declared itself in favour of the proposal of some political parties of different orientations to move from the civil unions, recognised since 2007, to the real and equal civil marriage. “We welcome the proposed regulations that give homosexual partnerships a stable and reliable legal cover,” explains the diocese.
But the Catholic Church of Basel took one more step: it will bless the people who will get married. Let me be clear: it will be a simple blessing and not religious marriage. The bishop of the city, Felix Gmür, gave the line in 2017: “Because same-sex marriage is not a marriage [from a religious point of view; Ed] and then we don’t interpret it as an alliance, we don’t bless the bond, but two same-sex people on their common path together.” In short, they recognise a common path of life, but they strongly reaffirm the distance and difference with what they consider the “true” marriage. Although there is still a long way to go, it is an important step forward.
Evangelical marriages
The Council of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Switzerland chose a very different path: they recommended to their member churches to celebrate religious marriages between same-sex people with a ritual identical to heterosexual unions. This is only a recommendation because the final choice falls within the competence of each denomination. Moreover, every minister may make conscientious objections. The president of the Federation, Gottfried Locher, explained the sense of the decision already a month ago: given that “even homosexuality corresponds to the will of God the creator,” the Protestant churches should recognise the legitimacy of all marriages admitted by the state. How many people would be ready to follow this way of thinking in other countries?
Pier Cesare Notaro
©2019 Il Grande Colibrì
picture: Il Grande Colibrì
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