Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Brooklyn Diocese has told officials at Catholic schools to bar Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators who helped pass New York’s new law allowing same-sex marriages from speaking at their institutions.
DiMarzio also wants the schools to reject any honors or awards that Cuomo, who is a Catholic himself, or the legislators might offer them.
“Republicans and Democrats alike succumbed to powerful political elites and have passed legislation that will undermine our families and, as a consequence, our society,” the bishop said in a statement. “With this vote, Governor Cuomo has opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation.”
“The above request is intended as a protest of the corrupt political process in New York State,” the statement continued. “More than half of all New Yorkers oppose this legislation. Yet, the governor and the state legislature have demonized people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews, or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced, and voted in favor of same-sex ‘marriage.’”
After the June 24 passage of the Marriage Equality Act, Cuomo was quoted as saying, “With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers.”
The Catholic Church’s official stance on marriage is that it can be only between a man and a woman. After the law passed, New York’s eight Catholic bishops issued a statement expressing the fear that government sanctions against churches that preach traditional marriage could be next on the legislative agenda.
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