Brazil: Paraplegic Denied Wedding Due to Impotence

Sunday May 22, 2005

Opponents of same-sex marriage sometimes argue that such marriages would be invalid because of the absence of children. Critics say that straight couples wouldn't be denied marriage for that reason, so why do it to gay couples? In Brazil, however, the Catholic church has done exactly that: denied marriage to someone for being impotent.

The Contra Costa Times reports how Hedir Antonio de Brito, a paraplegic man, was forbidden to get married:

De Brito was two weeks away from marrying Elzimar de Lourdes Serafim, a widow, in August 1996, when he received a shocking letter from the local bishop denying their application for a marriage certificate. According to canon law, any man or woman who is impotent and unable to have intercourse cannot get married.

De Brito wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II to appeal the bishop's decision, but didn't get a response.

The invitations had already been mailed and the couple were determined to get married, even if it meant going against the church. ... "It's very unusual for somebody of that social class to stand up against the church," the 44-year-old filmmaker said.

De Brito came from a religious family, and his mother initially opposed his marriage. Over time, she accepted her son's relationship with Serafim but, in turn, was ostracized by her friends because he was speaking out against the church. ... "With all the problems in Brazil - the poverty, the lack of education - I couldn't believe the church would get involved in someone's sex life," she said in an interview. "It was appalling to me."

Appalling is right — and overly generous. The Catholic church's stance on children and contraception has it opposing condoms, which means that people die, and opposing this marriage, which means opposing a loving relationship. When they oppose gay marriage, they aren't really standing up for heterosexual marriage. All of this seems to bring us to one common factor: women have to have babies and anything that doesn't lead to that is immoral. Such objectification of human beings is immoral.

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