Catholic Institutions in Massachusetts Grapple with Gay Marriage

It is very likely that gay marriage will become fully legal in Massachusetts soon. Everyone will have to make some adjustments, but the difficulties facing Roman Catholic institutions may be the greatest. The Massachusetts has ruled that gay couples will have to get the same benefits as straight couples. What will Catholic institutions do?

The Herald Tribune explains:

Officials from some Catholic institutions say they haven't decided whether they'll grant spousal benefits to any gay and lesbian employees who get married. ... "We wouldn't recognize the marriage - we obviously don't think we should have to cover it," the Rev. Christopher Coyne said. "The question becomes how does that play out in terms of law."

And it's not just religious institutions. Boston University, which like BC does not provide domestic partner benefits, said it also hasn't decided what to do. "What to do with the change in the law is under review," BU spokesman Kevin Carleton said. "It's not a situation that is treated the same under federal law."

One might be sympathetic to the Catholic position, but that sympathy shouldn't extend too far. If Catholic institutions were contemplating the denial of benefits to inter-faith couples, divorced and remarried couples, or couples who have used contraceptives, sterilization, or abortion, I don't think that there would be a great deal of sympathy for them. Well, the same should really hold true here as well. The Catholic church may not regard gay marriages as valid, but they also don't regard remarriage after divorce as valid without an annulment. If they can't ignore remarried couples, they shouldn't be allowed to ignore gay couples either.

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• Roman Catholicism
• Catholicism & Homosexuality
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