Pope Benedict warns against premarital and same sex relationships
The Pope Benedict warned of “powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage”.
He urged the Bishops to emphasize to the church that premarital sex and cohabitation was “gravely sinful” and “damaging to the stability of society”. He stressed that the bishops should do what they could to ensure traditional marriage would be “defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature”.
Pope’s statement comes after US states Washington and Maryland legalized same sex marriage. At least five US states scheduled ballot measure which will likely to turn gay marriage laws.
Recently, Bishops were on the forefront against a new rule that would require health insurance plans to include coverage of contraceptive services. Timothy Dolan, the New York archbishop who was recently made a cardinal by the Pope, was prominent person in that compaign.
He also opposed the Obamas’s decision of not supporting the federal ban on same-sex marriage. In the letter, the then-Archbishop Dolan said the White House’s policy could “precipitate a national conflict between Church and state of enormous proportions”.
