Gays can seek partners, but not in marriage, says bishop

It is “understandable” that homosexuals would seek “partnerships” but these cannot be called marriage, a Catholic prelate said Thursday.

Gay people, or those of same-sex orientation, also have human rights but they cannot force the Catholic Church to bless their unions, said retired  Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

“It is not a secret that same-sex marriage can be anything but marriage. The reason is, according to natural law, the marriage of a man and a woman comes out with children. That is complete consummation of the marriage,” said Cruz, a canon law expert.

“When gays want to be together, it is understandable that they could have partnership, understanding or a contractual life but not marriage. This is not because the Church says so, but because human nature says so,” he said.

Cruz made the statements in the wake of a from Pope Benedict XVI that same-sex marriage was a “threat to humanity.”

“There are now countries where gay marriages have lowered human dignity, especially belonging to the gay people themselves,” Cruz said.

“All individuals, men, women, and gay, are created by God through his image and, therefore, all of us have the same human dignity and human rights. (The) conclusion is we must respect everybody otherwise there would be chaos,” Cruz said.