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Archbishop Sean O’Malley’s presence at an anti-gay marriage religious forum lent the event a respectability it would not otherewise have had
BY ADAM REILLY
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WAYLAND -- Archbishop Sean O’Malley’s presence at yesterday’s Summit of October to Save Marriage -- a/k/a SOS Marriage, for all you acronym-challenged readers -- helped give the event a patina of legitimacy it might otherwise have lacked. The other scheduled speakers included Jeffrey Satinover, a physician who serves on the scientific advisory board for the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuals; Rev. Stephen Bennett, a "former" homosexual whose ministry focuses on helping gay men and lesbians become straight; Glen T. Stanton, director of social research and cultural affiars for James Dobson’s evangelical organization Focus on the Family; Connie Mackey, a former campaign staffer for Pat Buchanan and Gary Bauer; and Rabbi Daniel Lappin, an advocate of purging Judaism of secular humanist elements and the author of Thou Shall Prosper: The Ten Commandments of Making Money. In other words, other than O’Malley, the event wasn’t heavy on respected mainstream religious leaders. (Note: the Phoenix arrived to the event after O’Malley had given his address; quotes are taken from a videotape of his speech.) Catholics who support the rights of same-sex couples to marry certainly found little encouragement in O’Malley’s speech, which situated gay marriage on a continuum with divorce-induced poverty and violence against women and children. Then again, O’Malley’s comments -- and his decision to participate in the event -- weren’t exactly surprising. On May 31 and June 1, before O’Malley’s installation, a letter signed by the Massachusetts’ Catholic bishops and opposing the rights of gay people to marry was read at parishes around the state. On June 2, another letter sent by the bishops to the state’s legislators urged them to back H3190, the Marriage Affirmation & Protection Amendment, and condemned Catholic clergy who had argued that marriages of same-sex couples might be consonant with some aspects of Catholic doctrine. And since July, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference -- the church’s official public policy wing in the state -- has been working with the Massachusetts Family Institute (which sponsored yesterday’s event) and the Family Research Council to develop a strategy aimed at countering the legalization of gay marriage that could result from the SJC’s pending ruling on Goodridge et al v. Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, O’Malley has been vocal on this issue in the past. In 1999, when he was bishop of the Fall River Diocese, he testifed at the State House during a hearing on a bill sponsored by state representative John Rogers of Norwood that would have banned the marriages of gay people. It’s tough to square O’Malley’s call that homosexuals "be treated with every respect and with compassion, and that their rights...be defended" with his argument that the marriage of gay couples would corrode the social fabric. But at least O’Malley gave a nod -- albeit an unconvincing one -- to the need for tolerance. Other speakers didn’t make an effort. For example, by invoking the false mother in the biblical story of Solomon -- who was willing to have the child she stole cut in half rather than return it to its real parent -- Jeffrey Satinover managed to insinuate that there was something vicious about advocacy of gay marriage. "The [false mother] said ‘Fine, fine, great idea. Let’s split the child. That’s fair," Satinover told the audience. "And that’s how Solomon knew who was the real mother. Because the real mother cared about the child, whereas the false mother cared only about fairness." O’Malley, who left without speaking to reporters, wasn’t the only prominent local opponent of gay marriage to address the assemblage. State Representative Philip Travis of Rehoboth, the lead sponsor of H3190, was an unannounced (and very well received) speaker. Travis received a sympathetic introduction from Ron Crews, president of SOS Marriage and a former Georgia legislator who helped pass a Defense of Marriage act in that state. (Crews depicted Travis -- and himself, and other gay marriage opponents -- as a sort of noble victim: "I know a little bit about what Representative Travis has endured: the phone calls you get at night, the hate mail, the protests outside your home and your office," Crews said. "I was a pastor in a church, and we had the great privilege of having protesters just outside our church on a regular basis. We offered them soft drinks, water, tried to make them as comfortable as possible.") In his remarks, Travis seemed conflicted on the question of whether his sponsorship of H3190 was religiously grounded or not. He recalled rebuffing criticisms that he was commingling religion and politics by responding that gay marriage was a moral question, not a religious one. A bit later, though, Travis also demonstrated that this distinction is tough to maintain. "When it comes to politics, the Lord has a plan for my life," a visibly emotional Travis said. "And if bringing my moral conception of what is right and wrong causes me to loose my reelection, I don’t care. I would rather do what’s right." The crowd responded with aggressive applause. Outside "SOS Marriage," which was held at Wayland’s Celebration International Church, John Tibbetts--a 39-year-old Plymouth resident and member of the gay Catholic group Dignity--offered his muted take on O’Malley’s involvement. "I don’t know how much choice he has, really, in his position," Tibbetts said. "He can’t support same-sex marriage, but I had hoped that maybe he would be neutral at least. And apparently he has decided not to do that." Adam Reilly can be reached at areilly[a]phx.com
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