Why the concern about religious liberty?
Marriage is much bigger than a mere private relationship between individuals. Marriage and family constitute the cornerstone of neighborhoods, communities, churches, towns, cities, societies, nations, the world. The marriage of one man and one woman is a fundamental pattern of and for human existence, serving the public good. Changing something that 1) is not meant to be changed and 2) is so basic and essential for person and society—this would be bound to have serious repercussions in a variety of areas. Religious liberty is one of them. Religious liberty is “the right to live in the truth of one’s faith and in conformity with one’s transcendent dignity as a person” (Venerable John Paul II, Centesimus annus [1991], no. 47). Religious liberty is so important that John Paul II called it the “source and synthesis” of rights considered basic to every human person (ibid.). In a variety of instances already, when marriage laws have been changed to allow for a redefinition of marriage, the r
