Bishop: 'Preserve the sanctity of marriage'
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Bishop Salvatore Matano testifies about same-sex marriage before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Montpelier. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/Times Argus |
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: March 19, 2009
MONTPELIER – Vermont's religious leaders espoused views on same-sex marriage Thursday as varied and diverse as their own faiths as a Senate committee continued hearings on the bill for a third day.
Two bishops, a rabbi and several reverends and pastors made up the witness list Wednesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee grappled with the religious implications of a bill extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians in Vermont.
The man who drew the largest crowd to witness his testimony was Salvatore R. Matano, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, who told lawmakers that God created marriage as the union between one man and one woman – no exceptions.
"Please preserve the definition of marriage as the union of a man and woman, of husband and wife," Matano said. "Please preserve the sanctity of marriage."
That message was vastly different than the one delivered by other religious leaders earlier Wednesday morning. In what appeared to be clear split in the state's religious communities, the leaders of several churches urged lawmakers to support same-sex marriage.
In a video-taped message delivered to the committee, Rev. Thomas C. Ely, the Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, acknowledged that acceptance of gays and lesbians has split his church in recent years, but said he strongly supports extending marriage rights to same-sex couples.
"I do not believe that this legislation will diminish, or compromise, the integrity of marriage, certainly not my marriage," said Ely. "Rather, I believe it has the possibility to strengthen our understanding and appreciation of marriage as we witness the love and fidelity of gay and lesbian couples alongside that of straight couples."
Rev. Lynn Bujnak of the United Church of Christ in Vermont had a similar message for senators, but also included her own personal experience: She is a lesbian who has been with her partner for 24 years and helped her raise four children.
During the hundreds of marriage ceremonies she has performed in the church for heterosexual couples, Bujnak said she was always aware that she and her partner were not legally allowed to do the same.
"I was always aware that these were vows I was unable to say," she explained. "Instead, Peg and I have lived the vows."
Andrew Selle, a minister and family counselor from Essex Junction, warned lawmakers that passing the bill would alter the "fundamental building block of society."
"I believe that all Vermonters have the right to choose a particular lifestyle," Selle said. "But that is no reason to jettison the cultural consensus of six millennial of history to radically redefine marriage."
Some predictions were downright apocalyptic.
Scott Libby, the pastor of Grace Brethren Church in Irasburg, who told lawmakers that the motto of his 60-member congregation is "The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible," said the same-sex marriage bill is an attack on Christians.
Libby worried that allowing same-sex marriage would lead to discrimination, lawsuits and even hate crimes against churches that don't agree. He said the more that "civil laws move away from God's laws" the more likely that Christians will be targeted by the government.
"Christians in Vermont are at the cliff's edge of persecution," Libby warned. "It's not far away."
Several more conservative churches told lawmakers that they were worried that a provision in the same-sex marriage bill that makes it clear that clergy would not be required to perform a marriage ceremony they don't agree with is actually a sly attempt to do the opposite.
Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he would consider taking out that provision to calm the fears of some members of the religious communities.
But two divides in the faith communities were on display Wednesday: Whether the word of the Bible should be taken literally, or through a contemporary and historic lens.
Daniel Jantos, the minister of the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock, said the way the Bible has been used in opposition to gay and lesbian rights is "completely inappropriate."
"Theology, especially Christian theology, is not static," Jantos said.
Several of the more conservative religious leaders said gays and lesbians choose that lifestyle and therefore the battle for marriage rights should not be considered a civil rights issue.
"If I were to choose a homosexual lifestyle, I would give up my right to marriage," said Libby.
Rabbi Joshua Boettiger told lawmakers that same-sex couples want to get married for the same reason as straight couples: It is a public declaration of their commitment and love for one another.
He said he believes God can bless a union such as that one.
"Jews believe that all humans are created in the image of God," Boettiger said. "This means he finds equality in all people."
Hearings on the same-sex marriage bill continue Thursday morning at the Statehouse. The five-member committee is expected to vote on the bill this week.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.
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