The Roman Catholic bishops of the United States have uniformly emphasized the notion that a marriage must always and only involve one man and one woman. They claim that same-sex marriage is an attack on traditional marriage, and on the traditional family God intended. On the local level and with each bishop in his own diocese, they reliably express horror whenever same-sex marriage is proposed in their backyards, delivering words that echo the sentiments of their boss, Pope Benedict XVI.

Their opposition to same-sex marriage took a significant and startling turn on September 20th with the issuance of a letter from New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to President Obama in which Dolan urges the President to end his Administration’s “campaign against DOMA, the institution of marriage it protects, and religious freedom.”

By Tony Adams, Feature Author

photo by Marius Bugge

Tony Adams is a writer, editor, retired CFO, and Roman Catholic priest. He is Senior Features Correspondent with South Florida Gay News and is the editor of the 20-member queer arts and culture blog Queer New York. He is also a member of the editorial board of Bilerico. His writing has been featured in the 2010 and 2011 issues of PRIDE Magazine.

Tony and his husband Chris have been together for 27 years and were married in Connecticut in December 2008. They divide their time between homes in Fort Lauderdale and Manhattan.

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1. Equally Blessed counters the bishops' threat against Obama

   Equally Blessed, a Catholic coalition which supports justice and equality for LGBT people, has written to Obama to let him know that the US bishops do not speak for the majority of US Catholics on the issue of marriage equality. Catholic people, as poll after poll has shown, are among the strongest supporters for marriage equality and other LGBT justice initiatives. To read the full text of Equally Blessed's letter, go to: http://equally-blessed.org/node/18

   Thursday, September 29, 2011 Francis