Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship challenges us to go beyond party affiliation and ideology when choosing our elected officials. We are called to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of public policy. One public policy issue that confronts us today is the definition of marriage.
The bishops state, “Marriage must be defined, recognized, and protected as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, and as the source of the next generation and the protective haven for children” (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship 70).
Marriage is not a product of human design. Rather, it is an “intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state [that] has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws… God himself is the author of marriage” (Catechism of the Catholic Church1603).
Because of this, the Church believes that marriage between baptized persons has been blessed and elevated by Christ Jesus to the dignity of a sacrament.
There exists an eternal exchange of love between the Father and the Son that is personified in the Holy Spirit who “proceeds from the Father and the Son… who is the Lord and Giver of Life,” according to the Nicene Creed, and who communes with them in-life giving love.
Marriage gives witness on earth to the Holy Trinity. It points us to this Heavenly reality. It is the human expression of Trinitarian love in this way: A man makes a full and complete gift of himself to a woman. She receives his love unconditionally, and gives the full and complete gift of herself to him. He receives her love unconditionally. This love is personified in their children, who proceed from them and who commune with them in an intimate community of life and love, the family.
Thus, we bear in our being the mystery of God, Who in scripture is referred to as both mother and father. Human persons image God as women and as men. Yet, in the communion of marriage, human persons image God more fully.
Human sexuality makes this possible. Sexuality is not just a bodily reality; it is who the human person is. It is a fundamental component of the human personality. Equal in dignity, masculinity and femininity are two ways of being human. Men and women experience differences in the way they think and speak about things, and in many other ways.
Yet these differences are intrinsically complementary. In her book, “The Parity of the Sexes,” philosopher Sylviane Agacinski states that the voice of humanity is neither male, nor female. Rather it is both. When a man and a woman speak in union with each other, in their complementarity, the fullness of humanity is heard.
This is borne out in our faith. It wasn’t just the disobedience of Eve that caused the fall, it was the disobedience of both Eve and Adam that spoke for all humanity and caused us all to fall from grace. In our redemption, it was the obedience of Mary and the obedience of Jesus to the will of the Father that spoke for all humanity and made possible the salvation of humanity.
So the definition of marriage is inscribed in the male and female bodies and in the complementarity of masculinity and femininity.
“Marriage is a basic human and social institution. Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, it did not originate from either the church or state but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage” (Between a Man and a Woman,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops).
Steven Bozza is director, Office of Family Life/Respect Life, Diocese of Camden.