A Light in the Darkness
I recently saw a documentary about racial integration of
schools in the early 1960s. It was very
interesting, but what really caught my attention were the clips of people who
opposed integration at the time. Some
said very hateful things and advocated riots and the like. Not too compelling. But what was fascinating to me were the
people who spoke in a very calm and reasonable manner, yet in favor of
something (segregation) that was clearly wrong.
I don’t know if these people had a supposed religious
justification for their position, but they were sincerely convinced that
integration would mean the end of “Caucasian culture,” and be detrimental to
both races. Oftentimes during the
interview a clear bigotry would emerge, but oftentimes not. In either case, the fact is that segregation
was a violation of the human rights and dignity of an entire class of people, rights
and dignity that were only eventually won through a long, hard struggle.
What got me thinking is that accusations of this type of
bigotry are consistently leveled at those of us who defend traditional
marriage. Many of us, most notably the
Church, vocally defend the rights and dignity of homosexual persons, of course,
yet the fact that we believe in marriage classifies us as bigots in the eyes of
the broader culture.
We recognize the fact that this is not true, and many can
articulate very clearly why it is not true.
But it got me to thinking that some of the people in the documentary
were sure their position was just and quite reasonable as well. How can we be so sure about the clarity of
our thinking? Is it based solely on our
own authority, or our personal assumptions about right and holy society?
Before anyone worries that I am abandoning the defense of
marriage, we do have an answer to those questions, which the segregationists of
50 years ago did not have.
We are so blessed to have the guidance of Jesus Christ
through His Body, the Church. As we
remain faithful to the teaching of the Church, we never have to worry that we
are following some whim, preference, or rationalization of our own. The Church has staunchly defended traditional
marriage; it did not do so for segregation.
And in that defense of marriage, she has also defended the equal dignity
of every human being, and it is clear that the opposition to homosexual marriage
is not based on bigotry, but rather compassion.
Of course our own motives must always be under
examination. We need to be educated on
this issue, not only so we can present a well-reasoned defense, but so we can
form our own positions on the foundation of truth and charity, and never on
anger or bigotry.
As we tackle the difficult issues of our time, and fight in
the cultural war raging around us, we should pause and give thanks to God for
providing us a light in the prevailing darkness. This light, the Church, can be our sure guide
that we remain on the right side of these issues, and grow in holiness and
charity in the process.
