N.J. Catholic bishops call for day of prayer to protect and promote the dignity of marriage

In a joint letter, bishops say Catholics will not “stand by in silence” in the face of challenges that threaten marriage

CAMDEN (February 12, 2008)-The Catholic bishops of New Jersey have designated February 17, 2008 as a Day of Prayer for marriage.   The bishops have called for the day of prayer to draw attention to the importance of strong marriages, to encourage Catholics to pray for married couples to persevere in their vocation, and to urge Catholics to defend marriage as a sacramental union between one man and one woman.

The appeal from the bishops comes in a joint letter from Archbishop John Myers (Newark), Bishop John Bootkoski (Metuchen), Bishop John Smith (Trenton), Bishop Arthur Serratelli (Paterson), Bishop William Skurla (Passaic), Bishop Joseph Younan (Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic diocese) and Bishop Joseph Galante (Camden)The bishops have asked that the letter be read at all Masses on Sunday February 17.

Citing threats to marriage including divorce and same-sex unions, the bishops said, “As Catholics, we do not stand by in silence in the face of these challenges that threaten the sanctity of marriage.  We do not shirk our responsibility.” The letter from the bishops will be read at Masses in parishes of the Diocese of Camden on February 16 and 17 and there will be special intentions offered during the General Intercessions of the Masses.  A prayer for marriage also has been provided to parishes to share with parishioners. The website of the diocese (https://www.464edee1fa.nxcli.io) also features links to a website, “For Your Marriage,” developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which offers information and resources for married couples and those preparing to be married to help strengthen their relationships and to help couples with the inevitable challenges of married life.

The website is one element in a multi-year pastoral initiative on marriage by the United States bishops to respond to the challenges facing marriage today, including divorce, and to help build a culture that will help sustain marriages to the benefit of couples, families and the broader society.While the rate of divorce has declined slightly in recent years, and Catholics are less likely than other groups to get divorced, the projected rate of divorce still stands at around 50 percent (the percentage of marriages entered into during a particular year that are projected to end in divorce or separation before one spouse dies), while about one third of adults who have ever been married and are still living have experienced divorce.  This percentage rises to 46 percent for the baby boom generation, according to statistics from the USCCB.

The appeal from the New Jersey bishops is the second since 2006.  The New Jersey bishops in December 2006 wrote to members of the New Jersey state legislature after the state Supreme Court  held in  Lewis v. Harris  that same-sex couples are entitled to the same equal protection as heterosexual couples under the state constitution, but also said there was no fundamental right to marriage under the state constitution.  The Court called on the state legislature to create civil unions or amend the state marriage laws.

The bishops wrote at the time, “In seeking to change the current law, the plaintiffs in Lewis v. Harris called on the Court to provide equity with others in the State in areas such as health and retirement programs, property rights, tax advantages, recognition under inheritance laws and other benefits.  We believe that a need for justice in such areas may indeed exist, but that this need should not be determined solely on the basis of a sexual relationship.

As the shepherds of more than four million citizens of this state, we see many cases in which the granting of such equal benefits would ease the burden, and provide equality, for those whose political fortunes are not as strong as the plaintiffs in Lewis v. Harris – elderly siblings, single mothers and grandmothers caring for a dependent child, to name a few.  Such individuals are prohibited by law from marrying, and therefore are barred from any benefits that the Legislature may extend to the plaintiffs in Lewis v. Harris.  Are they any less deserving of equal treatment and justice under the law?”

[W]e urge you to think boldly and inclusively by creating a new legal structure of relationship for adults.  Such a statute would extend the right to enter into a mutual support contract to any two adults who wish to do so regardless of gender, orientation or blood relationship.”

In response to the Lewis v. Harris decision, the New Jersey state legislature passed the New Jersey Civil Union Act, which took effect February 19, 2007.   In doing so, it became the third state to offer civil unions to same-sex couples.  Connecticut and Vermont also offer civil unions, Massachusetts allows same-sex couples to marry, while California has domestic partnerships.

The Civil Union Act also created a Review Commission to study all aspects of the Act, to evaluate the effectiveness of its implementation and to determine if additional protections are needed.

The commission, which first met in June and which holds monthly public meetings in Trenton on the third Wednesday of each month, has drawn criticism for being weighted in favor of members who favor a redefining of marriage to include same-sex couples.  The 13-member commission consists of six of whom are ex-officio members and seven public members:  one who is appointed by the Senate President, one who is appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and five of whom are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt (R-Morris County) criticized the commission in an October New York Times article for not including anyone supportive of the traditional understanding of marriage.  “A lot of people who favor retaining the law as it is basically feel disenfranchised by the entire process,” he told the Times.

Vice chair of the commission, Steven Goldstein, is head of Garden State Equality, the state’s largest homosexual advocacy organization.  The Garden State’s website makes clear its dissatisfaction with the state’s civil union act and that it is working vigorously toward “marriage equality” and sees the Commission as a vehicle to advance marriage equality goals.

“When New Jersey enacted its civil unions law at the end of 2006, legislative leaders acknowledged the law is not equality and that they might revisit marriage equality soon.  They even enacted a commission, proposed by Garden State Equality, to investigate how civil unions fall short of equality.  Governor Corzine says he would sign a marriage equality bill if it reaches its desk.  Now Garden State Equality vows to win marriage equality legislation in the next two years.”

According to the Commission’s November report minutes, 2,069 same-sex civil unions have been performed in New Jersey since the Act went into effect a year ago.  Defenders of a traditional understanding of marriage have pushed back. The New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marri
age, a coalition whose member organizations include the New Jersey Family Policy Council, The Coalition for Traditional Marriage, the Council on the American Family, the League of American Families and others, has circulated petition in support of marriage being the union of one man and one woman.

Meanwhile, the city of Vineland in December became the second municipality in the state (Elizabeth was the first) to send a resolution to lawmakers in Trenton defining marriage as between one man and one woman only.  The Vineland City Council voted 4-1, to approve a resolution titled, “A resolution in support of preserving, protecting and defending the institution of marriage, as being between one man and one woman and insuring that civil union partners are not the subject of discrimination regarding benefits.”

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The Diocese of Camden, which was established in 1937, serves more than 500,000 Catholics in 124 parishes in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties.   Bishop Joseph Galante was installed as seventh Bishop of Camden on April 30, 2004.

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