“Genuine marriage is marriage between a man and a woman” and “two persons of the same sex don’t have the right to marry each other. The State, for its part, cannot recognize this non-existent right, by enacting in an arbitrary manner what lies outside its authority and what would undoubtedly and very seriously damage the common good”: so declares the Spanish Episcopal Conference in a statement “In favour of genuine marriage”, issued in Madrid on 20 July. The statement is a reaction to the proposal of the Congress of Deputies lower house of the Spanish Parliament which voted on 29 June in favour of a bill presented by the Socialist Party that would legally equate unions of persons of the same sex with marriage. The bishops emphasise that homosexual persons have an “inalienable dignity that is innate in every human being” and hence it is unacceptable that they be “maltreated or discriminated against”. “As Christians say the Spanish bishops they are called to participate in the life and mission of the Church”. But “marriage is not for homosexuals”: “To counterfeit money is to devalue genuine money, placing the economic system in danger: the same may happen if homosexual unions are placed on the same level as marriage”. As regards the legitimate rights of same-sex couples, the Spanish Episcopal Conference suggests “that they have recourse to the common law to obtain the safeguard of legal situations of mutual interest”. The bishops also ask that Catholics and especially believing parliamentarians “clearly and publicly” express their opposition to this bill that will return to the Chamber in September.
