Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Monday, 27 September 2021

Same-sex marriage is a violation of divine law

By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org :

Since the early days of life on Earth, God has created Adam and then created Eve. This far-reaching step was intended to inspire humanity on the right path to be followed in life which implicitly defines marriage as incorporating "a man and a woman" or rather "a husband and a wife".

 

Marriage as defined by the Almighty God enabled humanity to continuously maintain a life characterized by  integrity and dignity, as well as to serve in compliance with divine blessings which enabled humans to multiply and consequently to develop Earth by doing whatever possible to ensure the betterment of life on this planet.

 

Questions have regularly been raised about the validity of same-sex marriage with many views that have been opposed to this option on the basis of personal freedom, while others strictly opposed it on the basis that it violates the rule of life and negates the sanctity of a relationship that goes hand-in-hand with the divine will.

 

On his return trip from Slovakia, His Holiness Pope Francis made a clear-cut remark on this thorny issue by stating that, "Marriage is a sacrament. Matrimony is a sacrament. The Church has no power to change the sacraments as the Lord has instituted them...But marriage as a sacrament is clear, it is clear." This clear view expressed by His Holiness the Pope explicitly invalidates any relationship that violates the relevant divine rule.

 

On the other hand,  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI' made remarks that were published in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio on September 16, 2021 and written for the Italian book "The Real Europe: Identity and Mission" which state that "legalization of same-sex marriage is a distortion of conscience".

 

Stating that we are witnessing a distortion of conscience which has evidently penetrated deeply into various sectors of societies, he adds that “beyond so many words and high-sounding proclamations, today in Europe the very idea of respect for every human life is increasingly lost, starting with the loss of awareness of its sacredness, that is, precisely starting from the obfuscation of the consciousness that we are creatures of God.”

 

He also stressed that it is important to observe that the concept of “same-sex marriage” is “in contradiction with all the cultures of humanity that have followed one another up to now, and thus signifies a cultural revolution that is opposed to the whole tradition of humanity until today.”

 

His Holiness Pope Francis released his prayer intention for the month of June 2021, by inviting the faithful everyone to pray for those preparing for marriage. He stressed that getting married and sharing one’s life is something beautiful, adding that, “On this life-long journey, the husband and wife aren’t alone, Lord Jesus accompanies them.” This implies that no matter what difficulties can a married couple find in life, Lord Jesus comes in due time and helps remove all impediments and obstacles that stand in the way.

 

Therefore, it is implicitly accepted that marriage, one of the Holy Church Sacraments, is definitely and strictly between man and woman, thus becoming husband and wife. This holy union is a divine blessing which marks the start of a new life and goes hand-in-hand with the divine will to ensure a blessed life that produces children, or rather a new generation blessed by a holy union.

 

The Holy Bible says, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” (Ephesians 5:31)

 

From this premise, it is not licit to bless homosexual couples, who ask for some type of religious recognition of their union, and this kind of union is absolutely rejected. Marriage is one of the Church sacraments that enjoys divine blessings while serving as the basis to form sound and healthy societies. Any practice deviant from this is merely sinful that acquires divine wrath and leads to undermining the bases of viable societies.

 

The firm bases of a sound marriage is strongly corroborated by the first miracle performed by Lord Jesus Christ when He was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee in the company of His Mother, Blessed Mary. The Holy Bible states that "On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples," and during the wedding, Lord Jesus performed his first miracle by changing water into wine. (John 2:1-11) This miracle serves as a firm endorsement that marriage between man and woman is divinely blessed.

 

Furthermore, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated on Monday, March 15, 2021 that the Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions, as such 'unions" cannot “be considered licit”.

 

In conclusion, a happy life starts by carefully following the teachings of the Lord as explicitly mentioned in the Holy Bible which applies to all walks of life.

 

It is to be noted that family is strictly "a father and a mother" who start a healthy life that goes in line with divine teachings and enriches societies with goodness and blessings.