Tweet
J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle
In the wake of Washington state voters approving the state’s new civil marriage and religious freedom law, which allows same-sex couples to marry, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain has summarized archdiocesan policy regarding same-sex marriage. From the latest Archdiocese of Seattle Policy Refresher:
ARCHDIOCESAN POLICY BASED ON CANON LAW
- No priest or deacon or lay minister may officiate at a same-sex “marriage.”
- No church facility or school facility may be offered for such an event, even if it is to be witnessed by a non-Catholic minister or civil official.
- No church facility or school facility may be used for a reception after such an event.
- No church ministers, ordained or lay, may offer “wedding preparation” for such couples.
Appropriately, these prohibitions are based on canon law, which Sartain quotes at length to explain the policy. But then Sartain goes on to cite numerous sections of Washington state civil law (Revised Code of Washington, or RCW) to assure archdiocese employees that civil law supports their right to follow these points of canon law. The RCW was heavily amended by the new marriage law to include the extensive religious freedom assurances that Sartain is taking comfort in.
For example:
1. Are priests and deacons required to solemnize same-sex marriages?
No, priests and deacons are not required to do so.
No regularly licensed or ordained
minister or any priest, imam, rabbi, or
similar official of any religious organization
is required to solemnize or recognize
any marriage. RCW 26.04.010(4)
Time and again, as freedom to marry bills are debated, conservative religious leaders and campaign operatives claim that bill passage “endangers our religious liberty” and that “pastors, religious groups, and people of faith” who disagree with freedom to marry laws “face potential legal consequences“. Some have even gone so far as to claim that “pastors can be jailed” for refusing to officiate at weddings for same-sex couples.
By citing the religious freedom sections of the RCW as amended by Washington’s new marriage law, Archbishop Sartain is assuring the faithful that such claims are baseless.
10 Comments
I am filled with disgust and outrage that the Catholic Church of Rome continues to portray gay human beings as “less than” and defective, on the basis of their idiotic and hateful interpretation of “scripture” and in the face of everything science acknowledges about human sexuality. I understand that the point in the post is that anti-gay religious bigots are “protected,” but really this is no better than a country club that refuses to accept applications from black or Jewish members. Somebody should pick the Pope up by the scruff of his Hitler Jugend neck and toss him into the Tiber River. How many of the Catholic Church’s child rape victims remain uncompensated? Why has the Church never allowed outside investigators to inventory its holdings for assets stolen from Holocaust victims and paid to Vatican officials by known Nazi war criminals whom they helped to evade justice through the ratlines to South America? Why do we have to put up with the criminals of this Church demonizing gay people internationally? We must demand with unwavering determination that the Catholic Church cease and desist from all of its anti-gay hate speech and acts of hate against gay people.
May I respectfully go O/T to say to all those who read this because of the Catholic tag, consider that changing the gun culture is the pro-life issue of our day.
The point of the post for me is that Sartain has pulled the rug out from under other prelates who will want to allow scare tactics about loss of religious freedom to be used. Once a member of the hierarchy puts truth to the lies like this, it makes it harder for others to repeat the lies. And remember, Sartain is secretary-elect of US Conference of Catholic Bishops, so what he says and does matters nationally. I am delighted that he admits that the bill does what we said it would and that he inadvertently admits that his side’s scare tactics were bunk.
So we should feel what? Guilty for clicking this post?
You did.
Thanks for posting this, Laurel. It proves that the pre-election day rhetoric of the catholic church, the washington dioceses and NOM was false. Sartain admits that there is no effect on Catholic churches. I hope this post gets picked up. They can do whatever they want, including firing lay ministers who assist at gay weddings. They’ve got free rein.
When he sat down to write this explanation for his readers, I wonder if he knew he was making our case for us.
Recently I saw a photo of the Pope and a few of his underlings and wondered briefly, are the Village People getting back together? But no.
In a way I can see the point (Scott Rose #1 reply) is making, in a sense we’ve just created a “separate but equal” marriage for the gay community. unfortunately I think he hurts his perfectly sound argument with catholic bashing.
In the future I could see a court finding this “separate but equal” situation unconstitutional and trying to find a remedy.
for example requiring all State licensed marriage officiants to perform gay marriages. This wouldn’t force anyone to perform a gay wedding, but it would require mixed couples of religious marriages to be married twice, once for the religious ceremony and once for the State recognition.
to tell me why,
there will be challenge to churches for refusing to marry gays on the grounds that separate-but-equal is unconstitutional. that would run aground of the separation of church and state. churches in america can refuse to marry any couple for any reason. the catholic church does so all the time. you misunderstand this debate.
i meant to write “there will be NO challenge…”
sorry for the confusion.