Male and Female He Made Them: Questions and Answers about Marriage and Same-Sex Unions - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mary Jo Anderson is an internationally renowned writer, speaker, and activist for orthodox Catholicism. She writes for major Catholic magazines, serves on editorial boards, and is a regular guest on EWTN television's The Abundant Life. She covers the Vatican mission to the United Nations and has given addresses at a wide range of institutions.

Robin Bernhoft, M.D., a former surgeon, is chairman of the National Parents Commission, a Catholic educational apostolate, and co-host of Welcome Home, a syndicated weekly Catholic TV and radio show. He is internationally recognized as an authority in the field of medical ethics.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

This book examines the arguments that surround a crucial social question of our time: What does contemporary culture think about marriage and same-sex unions?

Public discourse interchanges the terms "same-sex marriages," "same-sex partnerships," and "domestic partnerships." Public debates asks, "Is a sexual relationship a civil right? What will same-sex unions mean to national policy, families, and children? How would a culture with multiple models of marriage function?"

The sexual instinct insures the survival of the species by bonding a man and a woman together to build a family. Every culture in all eras has had something to say about cultural norms that govern sex, marriage, and family. Healthy, enduring societies are societies in which the norms of sex, marriage, and family are based on respect for the human person and enjoy a wide consensus.

Today, modern democratic societies struggle to define and refine the meaning of love, sex, marriage, and family in a pluralistic culture. Advanced technologies and competing worldviews have raised new, urgent questions about the nature of sex and marriage that affect every member of the society as well as the future of the culture.

The resolution of the question "Can a new model for marriage include same-sex unions?" touches the powerful connectors that hold a multicultural society together: the common good, tolerance, civil rights, the democratic process, religious freedom, privacy, and freedom of speech. When the question is resolved, it will have an immediate impact on religious practice, public policy, education, and family law.

Essential to this debate are citizens who are well informed about the relationship of marriage and family to society. Catholics believe that God designed sexuality, male and female, to be complementary. Sexuality is God's gift for the unity of husband and wife, who together create a family: the first community. The Catholic Church teaches that the conjugal expression of love is an exclusive gift for one man and one woman joined in the sacrament of holy matrimony. Deep bonds of friendship are also a gift of God for all, married or single. Homosexual persons are due respect and love. They should enjoy genuine, vibrant--but chaste--relationships.

Proposed alternate models of marriage that include same-sex unions must be wisely examined. The goal of this book is to help citizens recover a known but marginalized truth: Marriage and family life ordered to the divine design builds healthy, peaceful communities.