Taylor Wofford spotlighted how Pope Francis "publicly affirmed his stance on so-called traditional marriage between men and women" in a Wednesday item for Newsweek. Wofford did his best to indicate that the pontiff was commenting about the recent oral arguments on same-sex "marriage" at the Supreme Court: "Though he made no specific mention of the case before the court during his daily general audience, the pope reiterated his position that marriage is only between one man and one woman."
After noting that the Pope's remarks came "one day after the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges—the outcome of which may dictate the future of same-sex marriage in the United States," the writer included three quotes from the Bishop of Rome's "daily general audience" (it was actually at his weekly general audience on Wednesdays). Wofford also zeroed in on two groups of scholars who filed amicus briefs in the marriage cases:
Though he made no specific mention of the case before the court during his daily general audience, the pope reiterated his position that marriage is only between one man and one woman. "Jesus teaches us that the masterpiece of society is the family: the man and the woman who love each other," he said....
The issue of child-rearing raises hackles on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate. One group calling itself the Scholars of the Constitutional Rights of Children filed an amicus brief arguing that bans on same-sex marriage harm children of same-sex unions by denying them the "legal, economic and social benefits" of marriage. Another brief, filed by the Scholars of the Welfare of Women, Children and Underprivileged Populations, argues that "redefining marriage to encompass same-sex relationships will likely harm women and children, particularly those in disadvantaged communities."
What the Newsweek author didn't realize that Pope Francis has actually been devoting most of his Wednesday general audiences since December 17, 2014 to the topics of marriage, family, children, and the God-created differences between men and women. On January 28, 2015, the pontiff lamented the absence of fathers in Western culture. The following Wednesday, he underlined that "every family needs a father."
On April 15, the Argentinian pope criticized the social left's "gender theory," which blurs the differences between the sexes:
...Modern contemporary culture has opened new spaces, new forms of freedom and new depths in order to enrich the understanding of this difference. But it has also introduced many doubts and much skepticism. For example, I ask myself, if the so-called gender theory is not, at the same time, an expression of frustration and resignation, which seeks to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it. Yes, we risk taking a step backwards. The removal of difference in fact creates a problem, not a solution.
The following week, the pontiff added that "the social devaluation for the stable and generative alliance between man and woman is certainly a loss for everyone. We must return marriage and the family to the place of honour!"
On Monday, the Catholic League's Bill Donohue also pointed out a quote of Pope Francis defending traditional marriage in 2013, as he criticized Newsweek's coverage of the cleric's remarks (disclaimer: MRC President Brent Bozell is on the Catholic League's board of advisors).
