The conjugal union also offers the best conditions for raising children, namely the stable and loving relationship between mother and father, which exists only in marriage. The state rightly recognizes this relationship as a public institution in its laws, because the relationship makes a unique and essential contribution to the common good. Marriage is a fundamental human and social institution. Although it is governed by civil and ecclesiastical laws, it comes neither from Church nor from the State, but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can change the fundamental meaning and structure of marriage. Marriage, the nature and purpose of which are determined by God, can only be the union of a man and a woman, and must remain so in law. In a way unlike any other relationship, marriage makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society, especially through procreation and the education of children. During their lives, the union of men and women becomes a great good for themselves, their families, their communities and society. Marriage is a gift to be cherished and protected. The natural structure of human sexuality makes man and woman complementary partners in the transmission of human life.
Only the union of man and woman can express the sexual complementarity that God willed for marriage. The permanent and exclusive commitment of marriage is the necessary framework for the expression of the sexual love willed by God both to serve the transmission of human life and to build the bond between man and woman (cf. CCC, 1639-1640). In 2003, Merriam-Webster`s Collegiate Dictionary (11th), an authority frequently cited by the courts, added same-sex partnerships to its definition of marriage: Why all this court consultation of dictionaries? If a word is not defined in a statute, the legal convention says that we must give that word its ordinary, customary or simple meaning. But the “ordinary meaning” of words is often controversial: the recent case of Bullock v. BankChampaign (2013) revolved around the meaning of defalcation, an obscure accounting term that has no clear meaning. But also the meaning of more common words is often to be discussed. That is why up to 15 million or 16 million civil lawsuits are filed each year, all based on conflicting interpretations of the words in our laws and treaties. But the latest edition of Black`s (9th) gives this more neutral definition, “the legal union of a couple as spouses,” and a subentry for same-sex marriage refines the definition to account for its treatment in different jurisdictions: the legal union of a couple as spouses. The fundamental elements of a marriage are: (1) the legal capacity of the parties to marry, (2) the mutual consent of the parties, and (3) a marriage contract as required by law. Same-sex marriage n. the relationship or bond between same-sex partners that is compared to the relationship between a married man and a woman; (mainly in later use) a formal marriage pact between two persons of the same sex often confers legal rights; (also) entering into such a relationship; the condition of same-sex marriage.
Marriage. NS The act of uniting a man and a woman for life; Marriage; The legal union of a man and a woman for life. Marriage is a civil and religious contract by which the parties undertake to live together in mutual affection and fidelity until death separates them. Marriage was instituted by God Himself to prevent sexual intercourse between the sexes, promote domestic happiness, and ensure the maintenance and education of children. Marriage, as instituted by God, is a faithful, exclusive, permanent union of a man and a woman, united in an intimate communion of life and love. They are fully committed to each other and to the miraculous responsibility of bringing children into the world and caring for them. The call to marriage is deeply rooted in the human spirit. Men and women have equal rights. However, as they were created, they are different from each other, but are made for each other. This complementarity, including sexual differences, unites them in a union of mutual love that must always be open to the procreation of children (see Catechism of the Catholic Church [Catechism], no. 1602-1605). These truths about marriage are present in the order of nature and can be perceived in the light of human reason.
They were confirmed by divine revelation in Sacred Scripture. In marriage, men and women give themselves completely to each other in their masculinity and femininity (see CCC, No. 1643). They are equal as human beings, but different as men and women, fulfilling each other through this natural difference. This unique complementarity allows the conjugal bond that forms the core of marriage. The Supreme Court`s definitions are limited to legal contexts. We are always free to call translators of interpreting documents, but according to Taniguchi, the law should define them as linguistic translators. We can use unfolding to signify accidental loss of funds, such as when Uncle Billy misplaced the bank deposit in It`s a Wonderful Life – if we even think of that unusual word. And we can still think that the carrying of weapons in the Second Amendment refers to military service, not sports or self-defense, but according to Heller, it has become grammatical to also carry guns against a rabbit. Perhaps the best-known cases decided by the U.S.
Supreme Court in this term are the two that concern the definition of marriage. U.S. v. Windsor questions the federal definition of marriage as “a lawful union between a man and a woman” (Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA], 1 U.S.C. § 7), and Hollingsworth v. Perry is seeking a ruling on the constitutionality of California`s Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage that states that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” In both cases, it is a question of who can write the definition of marriage and what that definition says. The High Court may consider dictionary definitions in deciding such cases. He could submit to the state laws that define marriage.
Or he could just write his own definition of marriage, because the courts, like dictionaries, tell us what the words mean. By ruling on these two marriage equality cases, the highest court in the land is poised to become the highest dictionary in the land. Marriage comes from the loving hand of God, who fashioned man and woman in the divine image (cf. Gen 1:27). A man “leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two become one body” (Gen 2:24). Man recognizes woman as “the bone of my bones and the flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). God blesses man and woman and commands them to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Jesus repeats these teachings from Genesis and says, “But from the beginning of creation, God created them male and female. Therefore man will leave his father and mother [and be united to his wife], and the two will become one flesh” (Mk 10:6-8). There is now a growing movement to make these relationships, commonly known as same-sex partnerships, the legal equivalent of marriage. This situation challenges Catholics – and all those who seek the truth – to reflect deeply on the meaning, purpose and value of marriage for individuals, families and society.
This type of reflection using reason and faith is an appropriate starting point and framework for the current debate. The courts are recognizing this, albeit slowly. In U.S. v. Costello, Judge Richard Posner rejected the government`s dictionary definition of “shelter” (Costello had been convicted of “harboring” his partner, a convicted drug dealer and illegal alien, in violation of the Espionage Act): “`Shelter` doesn`t seem like the right word to let your friend live with you.” Citing Learned Hand, he urged prosecutors not to “turn the dictionary into a fortress” because dictionaries usually don`t give enough information about how a word is used in context. Instead, Posner searched for the meaning of port by Googled the word. If equality cases before the court lead to dictionary searches, judges will find the following. Samuel Johnson (1755), the great English lexicographer, defined marriage as “the act of uniting a man and a woman for life.” Noah Webster (1828), a lawyer by training, defined marriage as a specifically heterosexual union and largely moralized its religious virtues, something that today`s more modest lexicographers fail to do: b.