Bill C38 passed!

It's official! Gay marriage has been recognized in Ontario for a while, but now it's nationwide. I am proud to be a Canadian at this moment. With my own wedding coming up, I am in a position to really recognize what a significant and valuable step towards equality this is.

Now if only the Church would pull itself out of the last century.

McClory, author of Faithful Dissenters: Stories of Men and Women Who Loved and Changed the Church and a founder of the reform group Call to Action, offered a way to evaluate doctrinal dissent - a four-step method created by the late Notre Dame theologian Richard A. McCormick.

First, McClory said, "give a docile personal attempt to assimilate" a teaching. Then, look at "the arguments behind it" and the church's reasons for the edict. Then, scrutinize yourself and ask whether narrow self-interest is driving your doubts.

Finally, if you still dispute the teaching, see if you can maintain "a general respect for the church." If you cannot, McClory said, "you are essentially departing from the church."

If you can, he said, "you shouldn't consider yourself disobedient, but a conscientious dissenter. And you don't deserve to be told to get out."

...

Eventually, McClory predicted, the church will yield. Research is showing that homosexuality is not a choice, he said, and many Bible scholars are saying the verses of condemnation are not as clear-cut as had been traditionally believed.

The church can adjust its teachings to the times, just as it quietly abandoned its longtime ban on usury, and just as he thinks widespread dissent in the pews will cause it to abandon its "dead traditions" against artificial birth control and ordination of women.

A step back on homosexuality "will happen without apology, and probably slowly," McClory said. "You'll see more nuancing in its statements. I don't see it yet, but I feel it coming."

Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania: "It’s common sense marriage is between a man and a woman. Why? Because of children. It is the reason for marriage. It’s not to affirm the love of two people. That’s not what marriage is about. It’s about uniting together to be open to children."

That doesn't seem to be common-sense to me. What about people who marry past child-bearing age? What about my sister and her husband, who are having problems having children? Is their marriage not a true marriage?