In Legalizing Same-Sex “Marriage” U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Natural Law and Provokes God’s Wrath

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property—TFP vehemently protests the “profoundly immoral and unjust” majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges which imposed same-sex “marriage” on America by judicial fiat.

The sacred institution of marriage—established by God in Paradise for our first parents, Adam and Eve, and which has been seriously undermined by the moral crisis devastating Western society since the sixties—suffered a tremendous blow on June 26, 2015.

In the most powerful nation on earth today, five liberal judges reinterpreted the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to discover that it contains a constitutional right to same-sex “marriage.”

When declaring America’s independence from Great Britain and forming a new political unity, our founding fathers placed “the rectitude of [their] intentions” before God as the “Supreme Judge of the world.”

In this landmark decision, however, the majority basks cynically in an atheistic, implied rejection of God and His right to be adored and obeyed by men, His creatures, not just individually, but as a society.

The majority opinion ignores the physical liberty plainly meant by the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Written by liberal Catholic Justice Anthony Kennedy—who was joined by fellow liberal Catholic Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Ginsburg—the majority opinion ignores the physical liberty plainly meant by the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment and embraces an evolving and anarchy-favoring reading of what human moral liberty is supposed to be: Liberty understood as license, whereby man is free to do as he pleases, regardless if the action is good or evil. In doing this, the Court implicitly rejected a proper understanding of liberty found in the perennial moral teaching of the Catholic Church, which, echoing natural law and the Ten Commandments, defines human moral liberty as our freedom to pursue all that is good and our duty to avoid all that is evil.

In Obergefell, Justice Kennedy builds on the moral relativism undergirding the majority opinion he authored in Lawrence v. Texas— a decision that went down in history as having “decreed the end of all morals legislation”—when the Supreme Court discovered in the same Fourteenth Amendment a constitutional right to the practice of sodomy. Now, twelve years later, Justice Kennedy explains further his liberty-as-license perspective:

Lawrence therefore drew upon principles of liberty and equality to define and protect the rights of gays and lesbians, holding the State “cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.” This dynamic also applies to same-sex marriage. It is now clear that the challenged laws burden the liberty of same-sex couples, and it must be further acknowledged that they abridge central precepts of equality.

The Court Breaks with History and Tradition Kennedy cynically affirms that this “Nation’s traditions make clear that marriage is a keystone of our social order” and that “[t]he right to marry is fundamental as a matter of history and tradition, but rights come not from ancient sources alone. They rise, too, from a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives define a liberty that remains urgent in our own era.”

“[T]hese [fundamental] liberties extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices that define personal identity and beliefs.”

“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimension, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning.”

“The right of same-sex couples to marry that is part of the liberty promised by the Fourteenth Amendment is derived, too, from that Amendment’s guarantee of the equal protection of the laws. The Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause are connected in a profound way though they set forth independent principles….This interrelation of the two principles furthers our understanding of what freedom is and must become.”

This evolving notion of liberty is the Supreme Court’s justification for rupturing with history, destroying tradition, and redefining marriage. Since Herodotus started recording the history of nations and peoples, thousands of years ago, nowhere do we find lawful same-sex “marriage.” Not in lustful Rome. Not in dissolute Greece. Not in the horrors of Communist China or Castro’s Cuba. Not even in the divinely chastised cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Chief Justice Roberts’ Inexcusably Weak Dissent Regrettably, Chief Justice Roberts’ dissent was weak and included concessions to the homosexual movement such as: “Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us….” “Although the policy arguments for extending marriage to same-sex couples may be compelling….” “The people of a State are free to expand marriage to include same-sex couples, or to retain the historic definition.”

More importantly, Roberts’ dissent shares by omission in the majority’s implied denial of the obligation of every man, and therefore of society, to do good and to avoid evil. There is no discussion much less condemnation of the unnaturalness and intrinsic immorality of the homosexual act, which lies at the root of every same-sex “marriage.”

With the attention of America riveted on the issue, Roberts’ dissent could have been used as an ideal “teaching moment” that a moral wrong can never become a civil right, steering America’s conservative reaction onto the high ground where it belongs.

None of the Dissents Defended Natural Law Of the three other dissenting opinions only that of Justice Thomas comes close to mentioning our obligations under Natural Law, but only in a fleeting manner. He quotes John Locke and Thomas Rutherforth but does not develop this line of thought. While he expounds ably our constitutional political liberty and correctly denounces the majority’s misconception of the physical liberty alluded to in the Fourteenth Amendment, he does not denounce their erroneous view of man’s moral liberty.

The world knows how religious Americans are. What will happen when our fundamental right to adore God above all things and obey His Law is effectively denied because it runs contrary to the new constitutional right of homosexuals and their media- and now government-privileged status?

Both majority and dissenting opinions talk about the impact of this decision on the free exercise of religion in America. The latter show evident concern that it stands threatened, and they should be worried. Just as the homosexual movement fought for the legalization of same-sex “marriage” so that homosexuality would be accepted as normal and homosexual acts would be considered equal to the marital act, it will now push to further erode and eventually extirpate the expression of Christian morality from society.

This decision increases the country’s growing polarization. If before this decision anti-discrimination laws around the country were already being used to elevate homosexuals to a privileged class, giving rise to many incidents of egregious and unjust persecution (e.g. bakers, florists, photographers, CEOs, teachers, etc.), what will the nation witness in the decision’s wake?

Did the Court’s majority weigh possible outcomes before opening this Pandora’s Box?

In this ever more intense Culture War, all Americans who consider themselves faithful disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ “must obey God rather than men” and peacefully and legally resist legalized same-sex “marriage” for the unjust and unconstitutional law it is.

We know that unjust laws and other measures contrary to the moral order are not binding in conscience, thus we must now exercise our right to conscientious objection against this interpretation of our law which is contrary to the common good and the true understanding of marriage.

In 2003, addressing the growing threat of legalized homosexual unions around the world, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons. This instruction to the universal Church was signed by the Congregation’s Prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) and Secretary, Archbishop Angelo Amato. The Vatican document insists that, “any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws” and even any “material cooperation on the level of their application” must be avoided. “In this area, everyone can exercise the right to conscientious objection.”

"We know that unjust laws and other measures contrary to the moral order are not binding in conscience, thus we must now exercise our right to conscientious objection against this interpretation of our law which is contrary to the common good and the true understanding of marriage."

In this monumental fight, we pray that our spiritual leaders will wield their shepherds’ staffs courageously, reinvigorating discipline, strengthening the faith of good Catholics, and dispensing appropriate punishment to bad ones.

The Vatican Considerations document quoted above also addresses the responsibility of Catholic politicians (and, by extension, judges who legislate from the bench) whose public lives must be “consistent with Christian conscience.” The document states:

If it is true that all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legalization of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians…. The Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.

For the great harm done to the sacred institution of marriage, the family in America, and the common good of the nation, Associate Justices Kennedy and Sotomayor should be excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

As in its unjust Roe v. Wade decision, which imposed legal procured abortion on America, so too now, and abusing its authority, the U.S. Supreme Court has consummated a collective sin of the nation, which will draw God’s justice and chastisement upon us, because the sins of nations are punished in this life, not in the next. In His justice, God rewards or chastises nations in this life for the good or evil they do, because unlike individuals they are incapable of being rewarded or chastised in eternity.

This truth makes us fear for the nation. We draw comfort, however, that principled and loyal resistance to this sin does not pass unnoticed by God. The resistance that needs to occur is precisely the means of averting Divine wrath and drawing instead His mercy on America.

If Christians in America fight in this way they have every reason to confide in God’s assistance, for as Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, founder of the first TFP in Brazil, reminded us:

“Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat” (“I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” - Phil. 4:13).

When men resolve to cooperate with the grace of God, the marvels of history are worked: the conversion of the Roman Empire; the formation of the Middle Ages; the reconquest of Spain, starting from Covadonga; all the events that result from the great resurrections of soul of which peoples are also capable. These resurrections are invincible, because nothing can defeat a people that is virtuous and truly loves God.

In her seemingly impossible quest, Saint Joan of Arc ever reminded her troops: “If we fight, God will give the victory!”

And in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, when appearing to the three little shepherd children to deliver the Message for our times, the Mother of God assured us of Her ultimate victory: “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”

May the loving and faithful resistance of millions of Americans to this unjust law attract God’s mercy and blessings on the nation, and may the prayers of Mary Most Holy bring special graces that change hearts and minds, thus making America truly and enduringly “one nation under God.”

Taking a Principled not a Personal Stand In writing this statement, we have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization.

As practicing Catholics, we are filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting and violent temptation to homosexual sin. We pray for those who fall into homosexual sin out of human weakness, that God may assist them with His grace.

We are conscious of the enormous difference between these individuals who struggle with their weakness and strive to overcome it and others who transform their sin into a reason for pride and try to impose their lifestyle on society as a whole, in flagrant opposition to traditional Christian morality and natural law. However, we pray for these too.

We pray also for the judges, legislators and government officials who in one way or another take steps that favor homosexuality and same-sex “marriage.” We do not judge their intentions, interior dispositions, or personal motivations.

We reject and condemn any violence. We simply exercise our liberty as children of God (Rom. 8:21) and our constitutional rights to free speech and the candid, unapologetic and unashamed public display of our Catholic faith. We oppose arguments with arguments. To the arguments in favor of homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” we respond with arguments based on right reason, natural law and Divine Revelation.

In a polemical statement like this, it is possible that one or another formulation may be perceived as excessive or ironic. Such is not our intention.

The Supreme Court thought that they offered absolution to all the homosexuals and lesbians of America.

Sodomite behavior is first and foremost about subjecting oneself to an unnatural lust. Sodomites have contributed to the corruption of society's morals , claiming to put their lives on the line in defense of our liberty, justice and equality but in reality are parasites.

It's all about getting their filthy hands on our children and now their desire is abetted by what is supposed to be the highest court in America. Soon the Highest Court in the universe will condemn those who have committed this most vile sin of acceptance of sodomy.

Wicked move, as scarcely needs to be said.

There is only one effective counter to the hate from Satan, and that is the love of God.

IMHO, the Supreme Court has in effect established a national religion, which will eventually lead to the destruction of Christianity and any other faith that does not conform.

The Founding Fathers must be spinning in their graves.

It is not as much as what they did, it was the way that they did it. The beauty of the Federalist system was that if you disagreed with the interpretation of laws (and taxes) in your state, you could move to another. That was the Federalist experiment that has allowed libtards and normal people to live together for over 200 years. The Fed has over-ruled several states that held voter referendums to defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Judicial tyranny ruled that voters can’t be trusted with a vote on this and allow the states to decide for themselves. Now, one un-elected man (Kennedy) has decide what the whole of America and all states must follow. Next president and congress will likely decide on the next one or two SCOTUS jurors once Kennedy and Ginsberg retire or die in office and we will be doubly screwed.

This would only bother people that care what the Supreme Court thinks. It doesn’t change my daily life. I’m not baking cakes. And if it is forced in me? I will disobey because my belief system overrides any Supreme Court decision. Time for some civil disobedience anyway. MLK will historically show us the way.

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