We all know where the Catholic Church stands on same-sex marriage, but there are good and bad ways to go about promoting that stance. Good: A Maine bishop is focusing on the church’s positive teachings about marriage rather than getting involved in a political campaign against a state gay marriage referendum. Bad: In Scotland, a cardinal compared legalized same-sex marriage to legalized slavery. When pressed on the issue, he stood by it as being a good example.
But what does Rick Santorum, the Catholic candidate who lacks support among Catholic voters, have the say about the issue? Santorum wants a national marriage law that would not only preclude gay marriage but would nullify all currently recognized same-sex marriages. Santorum is still a strong contender heading into Super Tuesday though, and even though he’s not popular with fellow Catholics, he does have the support of homeschoolers.
Catholic bishops are talking about some issues that don’t involve birth control or religious liberty today. Baltimore auxiliary Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski writes in the Baltimore Sun on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Bishop Richard Pates also joins Catholic Relief Services in writing to Congress about the importance of protecting poverty-focused humanitarian aid in the federal budget.
Who else is talking about poverty? Mark Roth takes a look in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Pope Benedict XVI will be heading to Cuba later this month, but meeting with practitioners of Santeria–who outnumber Catholics on the island 8-1–isn’t on the agenda.
Finally, a strange story from Ireland that gives new meaning to the phrase “you stole my heart”: A thief broke into Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral and literally stole the heart of St. Laurence O’Toole. None of the church’s other valuables were taken in the robbery.
