Bishop Brunett Pressures Governor to Veto SSB 5336

Bishop Brunett Pressures Governor to Veto SSB 5336

I previously reported about Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett’s opposition to a bill which would grant same sex couples limited legal rights, including the right to make medical decisions about the other person in the relationship. (See 3/21/07) There is ample legal justification for passage of the bill which is now awaiting signature by the Governor. However, The Catholic Northwest Progress reports Brunett Brunett is urging Catholics to contact the Governor to request that she veto the bill. He has written the Governor to veto the bill claiming it would "unjustly discriminate against families and undermine support for marriage." However, it is seems likely that the Archbishop would object to any legislation of any kind that would benefit same sex relationships no matter how fair and just. American Bishops too often simply echo whatever the position might be of our present archconservative Vactican leaders and Pope. This kind of knee jerk reaction on the part of Church leadership is bad enough, but it is then followed by pressure on Catholic voters to contact legislators to influence them to comply with the views of the Bishops. There is something unsavory and objectionable about using moral and religious intimidation to get one’s way about issues that deal with people who are not believers in a particular religion. I have expressed my objections to Church leaders utilizing their moral authority to politically intimidate Americans. (See 12/10/06) It most often done in violation of the inalienable right of freedom of conscience of all people, including Catholics. One can be in favor of granting fair and appropriate legal rights to people involved in same sex relationships while having personal moral objections to the relationship. We live in a pluralistic society and not a single religion society. There is a very good reason for separation of Church and state as the Bush Administration has so clearly demonstrated by it’s continuous efforts to politically legislate religious views in order to have political support. Religion and politics simply are a lethal mix.

0 thoughts on “Bishop Brunett Pressures Governor to Veto SSB 5336

  1. Paul,

    Enjoyed the article on losing. It has made me think about dusting myself off and starting over again trying to get the word out about my novel.
    I picked up Gerry Spence’s novel, The Making of a Country Lawyer. Haven’t read very far into it yet, but hope to get it finished soon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *