Bishops: Marriages are for men, women

CRITICIZING the ceremonial gay unions in Baguio City on Saturday, a Catholic bishop on Sunday called on the government to take action against same-sex marriages as such matrimonies are illegal.

Baguio Bishop Carlito Cenzon said over Church-run Radio Veritas that the lesbian partners who supposedly exchanged vows in a ceremony in Baguio were merely “playing house.”

“A wedding is a holy union of a male and a female. It must be solemnized and registered with the civil registrar… those who got ‘married’ and who led the ceremony have mental problems,” said Cenzon.

He urged the national government to take the necessary steps against same-sex marriages as they violate the Civil Code of the Philippines. “Even the Baguio local government is condemning this kind of act,” added the bishop.

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said while homosexuals are integral members of society who must be respected, they must also be reminded about the “inherent and intrinsic finalities of marriage.”

“In the sphere of faith and morals, homosexuals must be loved such as by pointing out and reminding them of the pertinent and existent realities and truths,” said Cruz in a statement.

Cruz, judicial vicar of the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal, said nature itself has stipulated that marriage is between man and woman and part of procreation and rearing of children.

“The conclusions from [these observation] is obvious: There can be no marriage between two individuals of the same sex, there can be no sexual union between parties of the same sex and there can be no possibility of the birth of children between two persons of the same sex,” he said.

Cruz also warned that the sanctity of marriage, the values system and the family life of Filipinos will crumble if the country would emulate other nations permitting same-sex marriages and even divorce.