"On Suzi Oppenheimer's gay marriage bill lament"

December 9, 2009

To the Editor:

NY State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer lamented in a recent letter to the editor that the New York State Senate “missed an opportunity to repair a part of the world when it failed to pass the marriage equality bill last week.” I do not lament the Senate’s vote; I applaud it.

I am encouraged to see that there are senators wise enough not to bend to special interests and to see this issue for what it truly is. They saw what Ms. Oppenheimer failed to see: this is not about equal or civil rights. Rather, by redefining marriage we would be redefining the meaning of the family and society. Marriage is the backbone of the family, and the family is the backbone of society. Redefine marriage and you redefine society; it’s as simple as that. I applaud those senators who had the courage to stand up to the special interest groups and see through the smoke screen that the gay marriage agenda is pushing. It is extremely dangerous for us to tamper with the very foundation of society without thinking hard and long about the consequences of doing so.

Numerous letters to the editor have opined something to the effect of “what difference does it make?” and “Let’s worry about more important issues such as the economy.” It makes a critical difference. Economies rise and fall. Our economy will eventually improve and the effects of the present situation will pass away. But changing the definition of marriage would be shaking our very moral foundation, and when a society’s moral foundation collapses, the society collapses with it, and from that we may never recover.

Ms. Oppenheimer made reference to a belief in her religious faith that commands us to “repair the world.” But did she ever stop to look at from where the “mistake” she wishes to correct originated? It came from the very word of God. There are six scriptural texts in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures which explicitly forbid homosexual activity as sinful and contrary to God’s command. When did Suzi Oppenheimer become so enlightened that she can tell God he’s wrong? How arrogant and audacious of any of us to pass judgment on the moral dictates of the Almighty and hold Him guilty of discrimination! What Divine Being appointed her to save mankind from the errors of God? She and all those who jump on the “anti-discrimination” bandwagon seems to have forgotten who saves whom. Any society that decides it will save the world from the “errors of God” has already begun to self-destruct. I pray we will all wake up and see what we’re doing before it’s too late.

Rev. Andrew P. Carrozza
Pastor, St. Ann’s Church
854 Midland Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10704

Dominican Republic Rejects Changes to Marriage Law

Affirms Statement Against Same-Sex Unions

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, JUNE 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Dominican Republic Congress approved a statement defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

On Wednesday members of review assembly working on constitutional reform affirmed this definition, and also rejected a proposal to amend the Constitution in a way that would civilly recognize marriages performed in all of the churches located in the country.

The Catholic Church, however, retains the power to celebrate marriages as granted by the state in the signing of a Concordat in 1954.

Today, the Listin Diario reported that this proposal was part of several family-related items under review by the special committee of the assembly.

A total of 108 assembly members voted, with 106 in favor of the deletion of the proposal's statement: "Religious marriages will have civil effects in the terms established by law."

The assembly approved a statement that marriage can only take place between a man and a woman, and closes the possibility to same-sex unions.

The lawmakers also recognized that wives who are in a unique and stable marriage, and children that are a fruit of this union, may inherit property. The proposal states that a man and a woman, "free of impediments to marriage, by forming a home actually create rights and duties in their personal and property relations in accordance with the law."

The committee agreed that men and women enjoy equal rights and duties in building a home, and that the good of the family is inalienable and indefeasible in accordance with the law.

Father Manuel Ruiz, a priest who was in the stands watching the vote, explained that this was not a triumph of the Catholic Church over other churches. He noted that it would have been good for the article to mention the Concordat signed in Rome between the state and the Catholic Church.

The country's population is 89% Catholic.