New Jersey Bishops Encourage Catholics to Protect Marriage Against Redefinition

 The Catholic bishops of New Jersey have distributed a letter explaining Church teaching on marriage and refuting the errors of same-sex "marriage" proponents. Urging the faithful to "protect and promote" marriage, they discussed the God-given natural complementarity of the union of man and woman.

"As Catholics, we must not stand by in silence in the face of the many challenges that threaten marriage and, in turn, children and the public good. We must not shirk from our responsibility," the bishops' message begins.

New Jersey state legislators may vote on recognizing same-sex "marriage" sometime after the November election.
Parish priests throughout the state were directed to distribute the bishops' letter, titled "The Call to Marriage is Woven Deeply into the Human Spirit," in parish bulletins last Sunday, The Newark Star-Ledger reported.

The bishops of Metuchen, Trenton, Camden, and Paterson were signatories to the message, as were Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark and Bishop William Skurla of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic.

In their letter, the bishops noted a "broad cultural shift" away from religion and social traditions and towards "secular individualism." They described some states' recent recognition of same-sex "marriage" as an expression of this cultural trend.

"We must protect and promote marriage," the bishops continued, saying Catholic teaching on marriage and the complementarity of the sexes is a truth "evident to right reason" and recognized by the world's major cultures.
Explaining Catholic teaching on marriage, they noted that God made man male and female.

"Man and woman are different from each other but created for each other. This complementarity, including sexual difference, draws them together in a mutually loving union that always should be open to the procreation of children."

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