Cardinal George: Same-Sex Marriage 'Will Not Serve The Common Good'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One day after a group of clergy came together to support same-sex marriage in Illinois, Cardinal Francis George and 10 other Chicago area religious leaders spoke out against the legalization of gay marriage.
WBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding reports the cardinal said he stands against gay marriage because he stands for biblical scripture as it is written, and he claimed anything else goes against nature.
"The confrontation isn't only with the word of God – although that is the clearest expression of it – it's also with nature itself, which is evidenced in human history," he said.
Religious Leaders Voice Opposition To Gay Marriage
He said the nature of marriage is "a sexual expression based upon the complementarity of men and women," and that "anything outside of that is morally wrong."
"The love in our hearts also expresses itself as a concern now; is focused now in the effort to legally destabilize the meaning of marriage, which will not serve the common good of our people, and will certainly lose the sense of family," he added.
Bishop Willie James Campbell, of Church of God in Christ, said it's a matter of principle.
"We're not standing against something, we're standing for something. We're standing for the scriptures as they are written," he said.
A day earlier, 13 other black pastors voiced their support of same-sex marriage, calling it a question of civil rights, not religion.
Several of them acknowledged it was difficult to support gay marriage as pastors. One noted his church won't allow him to perform same-sex marriages even if they are legalized in Illinois.
"We're all taking a risk by openly endorsing this bill, but I happened to know there are hundreds of pastors who cannot put themselves in this vulnerable position," said the Rev. Carlton Pearson, who was once one of the leading Pentecostal ministers nationwide until he began teaching that everyone goes to heaven, including gay people. The move angered many and he now runs his own church, New Dimensions Chicago.
A measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois has passed the Illinois Senate, but faces a tough vote in the more conservative Illinois House, where it is, so far, several votes shy of the 60 needed for passage.
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