Bishop Baker on same-sex unions: ‘one must follow the law of God’

CHARLESTON — In a July 30 interview with The State newspaper, Bishop Baker responded to questions about laws permitting same-sex unions.

Q. How can Catholics in public office reconcile their faith and its doctrines with their civic responsibilities?

A. The same way people of all faiths face conflicts between their beliefs and civic responsibilities... Presumably they follow their consciences, the dictates of the moral law as they have come to understand that moral law, and vote from their consciences rather than be swayed by the latest public opinion poll. That is the difference between a statesman and a politician. President John F. Kennedy’s popular book “Profiles in Courage” described people in government roles who did precisely that.
Two further clarifications are in order: When civil law conflicts with the law of God, one must follow the law of God. When civil law contradicts what is reasonable and moral, it loses its binding force on conscience. This principle applies to all citizens, not only people holding public office.
Secondly, the scope of the civil law is certainly more limited than that of the moral law. Not all the laws of God are enacted into civil legislation. But those moral issues that affect the basic structure of society and its survival should be reflected in civil law. That is the reasoning behind certain churches in America arguing for the protection of innocent human life, from the first moment when human life begins, i.e. at conception, as well as arguing for civil law protecting monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. Given the values at stake in these issues, the state needs to act. Without doing so, human life is threatened and family life is undermined. The social fabric of society is destroyed.

Q. Is the issue of same-sex union a big issue for South Carolina Catholics, given the fact that South Carolina is a conservative state, or are there other national questions more pressing to the faithful here?

A. I have not take up a poll on this issue. In areas of the country and among groups of people who take the Bible seriously, such as in this particular region of the country and in a Church such as ours that takes the Bible seriously, I would presume that the faithful of the Catholic community in South Carolina would regard same-sex unions as entirely contrary to the fundamental moral perspective of the church to which they belong. As a matter of fact the Roman Catholic Church holds same-sex unions to be immoral.
Are there more pressing moral issues to Catholics than the one before us? Yes and no. Yes, in that we are dealing with a major crisis regarding sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and church personnel that dominates much of our moral discourse these days. But no, in the sense that every issue that touches our everyday lives, our life of love of God and of all God’s people, and God’s holy will for us, impacts our lives. Everyday we are challenged by some new situation to ask ourselves, “Am I loving God and my neighbor as God has first loved me?”

From The Catholic Miscellany, Aug. 7, 2003