DIFFERENT MESSAGES ARE FOR DIFFERENT RELIGIONS (via Ransom Danegeld--TAFKAOC)

Kennedy likens Vatican stance on gay unions to 'bigotry': Other members of the Rhode Island delegation support civil unions but not same-sex marriage. (MICHAEL CORKERY, 08/06/2003, Providence Journal)

U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy has charged into the debate over same-sex marriage, criticizing the Vatican for its opposition to laws recognizing gay and lesbian couples.

A member of the country's most legendary Roman Catholic political family, representing the most Catholic state in the nation, Kennedy said he refuses to follow the Vatican's edict, issued last week, imploring Catholic lawmakers to oppose same-sex unions.

"I see the policy of opposing same-sex marriages or unions, whatever you call it, as bigotry or discrimination," Kennedy said yesterday in an interview.
 
"We are talking about the law here and whether the law is going to treat people equally here. I don't see where the church or anyone else dictates what the policy is going to be with respect to treating people equally," he said. [...]

It's not the first time Kennedy has clashed with the Catholic Church. In the past, he has bucked the church with his support for abortion rights and calling for the ordination of female priests. On the issue of gay rights, Kennedy said the church has strayed from its teachings. "The church has its doctrines. I don't agree with this doctrine. I don't agree with many others," he said.

Kennedy continued a short time later: "The very foundation of the church is about love," he said. "This notion of discrimination is so far afield of what Jesus' life was all about." Kennedy said his Catholic identity is important to him.

"The life of Jesus Christ influences my whole notion of public service," Kennedy said. "It's all about following the example of Jesus, of service, humility and love."

Kennedy continued: "I am speaking to you as someone who when I hear the Scripture, I get a very different message of what Jesus was teaching me than what the church seems to be representing."

One is not, of course, required to adhere to the doctrines of one's religion, but if you don't you aren't actually a member of the religion, are you? And homosexuality, even if we choose as a society to allow it, is impossible to reconcile with Christ's singular commandment: "[L]ove one another, as I have loved you..." . Posted by Orrin Judd at August 7, 2003 2:50 PM