U.S. Archbishop: Why marriage is undermined and under threat
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop John Myers of Newark says marriage in the U.S. is threatened
and undermined in many ways. His warning came as he released a pastoral letter on
marriage this week which looks at the definition, purpose and sanctity of marriage.
As head of one of the nation’s largest dioceses with well over 1 million Catholics,
Archbishop Myers makes the case for traditional marriage between a man and a woman
according to the natural law. He spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges:
Listen
to the extended interview with Archbishop John Myers of Newark:
Asked what
prompted him to write this pastoral letter right now, Archbishop Myers described the
current state of marriage in the U.S. as "alarming" with many factors contributing
to the "undermining of family life." He speaks of the turning away from religion,
saying : "there's no openess to the trascendent, to God"... "and it's led to the
chaos we see now."
One of the problems the archbishop mentioned was the growing
acceptance of "same sex marriage" within modern society. When asked what steps he
believes the Church should take to counter these threats to marriage, the prelate
said that the Church needed to "redouble its efforts" to speak out more: "We need
not be afraid, he says, to take our understanding of the truth of the gospel into
the public forum." Archbishop Myers concluded by saying that "studies show that
the ideal way for children to be raised most happily and most successfully is in a
unified family of a "man and a woman in a loving union."