The Church is not a democracy sums it all up. I hope they are not coercing people to vote YES on this thing. It should be left up to individual people. Many of my Catholic friends oppose this amendment.

It is my understanding that many catholic churches are coercing people. I also have many friends and family who oppose this amendment. Once again, the catholic church is mixing politics, money and religion. So sad!

no matter how you feel about this .... the church should NOT be telling people how to vote - one way or the other. if they want to cross the line of "separation-of-church-and-state", then their tax-exempt status should be rescinded --- and they can pay taxes like everyone else.

Do any of you identify as Catholic? Just curious.

I went to Assumption school and attended the parish as a child back. Back then the Catholic Church was more concerned about helping the poor and social justice instead of their issues today which are protecting the power and privileges of Church leadership and their religious market share. Sadly, church leadership like Archbishop John Nienstedtin is both out of touch spiritual and culturally with today society and most of their American & European congregations on many issues. (Think birth control and woman's rights). I know many friends that are Catholic use birth control AND support gay marriage. Their feelings on the matter is that the Catholic Church took 359 years to admit they had erred in condemning Galileo for asserting that the Earth revolves around the Sun so it is going to take some time for the Church to come around on the issue of gay marriage. They hope to work on it from the inside to enact change. I strongly suspect that while Richfield Catholic Parish leadership is of "One Mind" on the issue of the amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples, I suspect many Richfield parishioners are of a different mind.

I grew up with 16 years of Catholic education and still came to the conclusion that my orientation should be respected as equal to my straight brothers and sisters. Because the Catholic church chooses to disregard this and treat me as well as any second class citizen, I left it and am now Lutheran. I think Jesus would have left too.
This position is offensive to me, to my right to marry the person I love and to be considered as "good" as straight people. Seems to be the same issue the church had with people marrying outside of their skin color in another age, and outside of the Catholic faith before that.

The Methodist Church I attend is part of the Reconciling Ministries Network which is working for the full participation of all people in the United Methodist Church regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
For more info about Reconciling Ministries Network check it out on the web at http://www.rmnetwork.org
Also, if you support same-sex marriage (or just oppose the harmful MN marriage amendment) please 'like' United Methodists for Marriage Equality on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/UnitedMethodistsforMarriageEquality

Oh yea, and don't forget to vote NO!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states "Bishops,with priests as co-workers, have as their first task "to preach the Gospel of God to all men," in keeping with the Lord's command. They are "heralds of faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are authentic teachers" of the Apostolic Faith "endowed with the authority of Christ." #889. "To fulfill this service,Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals." (from #890) Atop all Catholic Churches is a cross. It is not a weather vane. The teaching of the Catholic Church regarding homosexual marriage is consistent with Natural Law. By what authority, other than their own self deceit, can any denomination alter Judeo-Christian Moral Law, and still imagine themselves being faithful to God? Sex outside of marriage is sinful. Tradition, history, and experience are consistent in supporting the teaching of the Church. When we fail to live up to it, it does not change the truth. It demonstrates our weakness, not that of the Church's teaching. The Defense of Marriage is not an attack on homosexuals. It is a defense of the good and proven. If anyone should be offended by verbal assaults, bigotry, lies, slanders, and unfair attacks it certainly isn't the supporters of homosexual marriage. It is the supporters of traditional marriage that are under attack, and the institution of marriage itself.

This whole topic got a little heavier yesterday when North Carolina banned gay marriage in addition to domestic partnerships and civil unions - which includes straight couples.

Can somebody who uses their Christian religion to justify denying same-sex couples their right to marry answer this please. Where does Jesus speak about same-sex marriage? I'll be waiting......

Matthew 19: 4-6. You also might want to read Genesis. You can also accept the authority of the Catholic Church. It is the One True Church, instituted by Christ who gave all authority to St. Peter and his successors, after His resurrection and prior to His ascension into heaven. Please bear in mind that The Ten Commandments given to Moses still apply, even though some people choose to disregard them. One thing that proponents of homosexual marriage have in their favor is that they control the imagery. If proponents of Traditional Marriage and Families were to use the abundant negative images of homosexuality, they would be arrested for pornography. Let's hear how much homosexual behavior has driven up the cost of health care, along with heterosexual extra-marital sex. Let's hear about the coercive tactics used against the American Psychiatric Association in order to force them to change their dianosis that homosexuality is a disorder.

Try again Kevin.

Matthew 19: 4-6 says nothing about same sex marriage. To say it does would be the same as saying because I like a Ford I must not like Chevy. Advocating one thing does not made you a opponent of another thing.

I do not accept the authority of the Catholic Church and nor should I have to.

To most believers in Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship. One would have thought that if homosexuality is as sinful as you propose it to be, it would have at least been mentioned at this time.

Perhaps Jesus doesn't talk about homosexuality because it is a non issue to him? He does speak of divorce and adultery but you do not see the GOP trying to pass constitutional amendments to ban those. This whole thing is political and the more I explore the teachings and words of Jesus with clergy people I am beginning to think people are interpreting the bible in a way to justify their disdain for same-sex couples.

Good point David on the adultery and divorce. If they were uncostitutional, we would have to run over half of our government through a Federal Pen.

As for the religious aspect, I mentioned that in my latest Patch Blog. We (as a society) seem to pick and choose which parts of the bible we should follow in todays world. Why do we hold onto this so vehemently? Pretty sure God knew what he/she/it was doing when they created us in his image. Just saying.

Kevin Parks, I read your latest blog post and I agree with your points and I liked the bit of humor you threw in since this is such a contentious topic.

Thanks David. Humor to me is a great way to get a point across without to much venom sneaking in.

oh yes, gays are driving up the cost of health care. Surely it's not gluttonous eating habits our lack of physical activity. Yes, blame it on the gays, Kevin O.

So your argument against same sex marriage include a bible verse that doesn't mention homosexuality,old testament rules that are cherry picked, and increased health care costs due to homosexual behavior, and straights having sex out of wedlock?
Oh yea, and because the human beings that run the Catholic church say so.
Yea, sounds legit to me.

As Saturday Night Live continues to point out many of the politicans pushing for these marriage amendments have been married numerous times. It is often said that a socitey can be judged by how it treats it children. We are worried about who marries who yet 20% of the children in the US live in poverty. The US Congress just passed legislation to remove much of the childrens federally funded healthcare. Why don't we prioritize what is important to our society instead of wasting time on devisive social issues.

David, I can't create facts. Protestants rejected inconvenient Christian beliefs several hundred years ago, and the list is expanding. Luther even rewrote and edited Biblical passages. If you think that homosexual behavior is commendable and are unwilling to let any facts get in the way of your opinion, there is no sense in having this discussion.

Fact: Jesus never spoke (as far as we know from the bible) about homosexuality or even more specifically, same-sex marriage.
Fact: Christian (noun) = one who follows the teachings or manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus Christ

I'm not sure we need to make it any more complicated.

I welcome and will thoughtfully consider any other arguments, religious or otherwise, that you have for denying committed same-sex couples the right to marry if you choose to continue the discussion. If you choose not to continue discussing the issue, I respect that too.

Are these same people who are voting yes on this ammendment upset when a person of, oh, say the Jahovah's Witness faith knock on their door to discuss their religious beliefs? My guess is yes. They do not like someone else telling them that their thoughts and beliefs are wrong and that they need to think as someone else does. They have the freedom in this country to live their lives according to their own beliefs and morals. And yet they want to deny others to have the same freedom to live their lives according to their own beliefs. It is not my right to tell someone else that they cannot have marital happiness with the person that they love and I would be upset if someone did that to me. Why are we so concerned about who loves who? They are not asking you to participate. Marry whomever you choose. Live your own life well and be good to others and love your fellow man and do your best to help others achieve their happiness. Worry about the murderers and child molestors and wife beaters not about love.

You need to fully understand Christianity before you try to quote the Word of God. It's insulting to me to see someone try to speak with authority on MY beliefs. Especially when they are so far off the mark. Jesus is NOT just the red lettering. He is from Genesis to Revelation. Please do not insult me with your trying to justify what is clearly sin in Jesus eyes.

Melanchthon was a partner with Martin Luther during the beginnings of the schism. His mother asked from her deathbed whether she should die as a Lutheran or a Catholic. Melanchthon replied "It is better to live as a Lutheran, but it is better to die as a Catholic." Most of us know in our hearts what is right. We know that homosexuals are people, who by that dignity deserve respect and compassion. We also can agree that "Love" and "Lust" are not one and the same. If "Equality" means everyone goes to Hell; who supports "Equality"? If "Equality" means we are all impoverished; who supports "Equality"? If you are a parent; who among you wants your child to be homosexual? If you are homosexual; who among you wants to not be suffering from same-sex attraction? Let's agree to do what is best for the next generation. Let's support and uphold Traditional Marriage and Families. Let's encourage personal responsibility and good character. Think about what is best for the youngest among us. Let's not be selfish narcissists.

I just don't understand why this article is such a big deal. The Catholic Church is simply defining it's position. Did someone not know this before? Kind of like Pres Obama just announcing he supports Gay marriage. Duh~! Look, if your Catholic, you need to be Catholic. That means, you follow the Pope. If your not, then what are you? Semi-Catholic? What was that verse from the Bible, "but because you are luke warm, I spat you from my mouth" (you know what I mean).