Oh those shocking gay people!

The facial expression says it all!  I hope he was able to sleep that night.

As you may or may not know, on Saturday the 24th of June in the beautiful city of Baguio, there was a mass same-sex marriage ceremony.  Some sources say that eight couples were wed, others say ten, but the number isn't that important -- the fact that they did it is what matters.

The marriages, dubbed Holy Unions by the officiating church, were conducted by ministers of the Baguio chapter of the MCC, or Metropolitan Community Church.  The MCC has three churches in the Philippines:  one in Quezon City, one in Makati City, and one in Baguio City.  It is a Christian church that has congregations all over the world, and ministers largely to members of the LGBT community, many of whom are rejected or outcast from certain mainstream denominations.  The MCC also conducts Holy Unions for committed same-sex couples who have been in a stable relationship for at least eight months.

It goes without saying that same-sex marriage is, of course, not recognized in the Philippines.  Some say it is "illegal," but that's not entirely correct.  There's actually nothing stopping two consenting adults from marrying each other in a commitment ceremony in a church (there is no specific law that expressly forbids same-sex marriage), as long as the priest or minister agrees to it and wishes to officiate.*

The Philippine government will not, however, recognize the marriage as a legal union, no thanks to the tricky little clause in Articles 1 and 2 of the Family Code which define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman.  This means that Philippine authorities cannot issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and that they will not honor any same-sex marriage certificates issued either by churches in the Philippines or by governments abroad.

(Actually that last point is a legal sticking point because Article 26 states that marriages solemnized legally outside of the Philippines shall be valid in the Philippines as well, which is why Rep. Relampagos of Bohol wants to amend the Article to specifically prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages contracted abroad.)

..."We pity them, they love each other but they cannot be wed"

Needless to say, the Catholic Church is in a tizzy over this, especially Baguio bishop Carlito Cenzon, whose shocked face appears on the cover of Sun Star Baguio above.  "Wedding should involve only a woman and a man," he chided.  "Same-sex wedding is wrong and cannot be called a holy union.  We pity them, they love each other but they cannot be wed."

Cenzon added that these unions are an insult to the Catholic Church, said that the couples and the officiating pastors have "mental defects," and then went on to say that the Church is not discriminating against LGBTs.  This is yet another example of the classic double-speak of the Catholic leadership -- we like gay people even though they're mentally defective... we don't discriminate against them... but they cannot have rights and they must do what we say!... but, but, but we don't discriminate!  See also here and here.

I especially loved the irony that these marriages took place on the same day that the great state of New York passed a Marriage Equality Act which legalized same-sex marriage there.  This is why I'm a bit confused as to why the bishop is in shock.  I'm wondering, does he live under a rock?  Same-sex marriage is nothing new, and surely the good bishop watches the news and reads a newspaper or two every now and then.  Same-sex unions are recognized and honored by literally dozens of countries around the globe, and more are being added to the list all the time, so this can hardly be "shocking" anymore now in 2011.  Perhaps Cenzon just doesn't get out much.

In great Christian love, Cenzon is now even calling on the national government to take necessary steps against such ceremonies because they "violate the Civil Code."  Seems he's a bit confused because, as I stated above, Philippine law does not expressly forbid same-sex blessing ceremonies from taking place under the auspices of non-Catholic clergy who support it.  Philippine law may not recognize such ceremonies as legally binding, but it doesn't outlaw them from happening.  That is part of Filipinos' right to freedom of religion.  Does he want the police to start raiding churches suspected of conducting private blessings between consenting adults just because it upsets the Catholic Church?  C'mon bishop, you're better than that.

And so, allow me to express my congratulations to the newlyweds in Baguio.  I wish you the very best of luck in your futures together, and I encourage you to always keep your heads held high.  Never let the ignorant words of prejudicial people get you down.  Remember that there are many of us in the straight community who stand by you!

*There has been some reference to the idea that the officiating pastors violated Section 352 of the Revised Penal Code (performance of illegal marriage ceremony).  The unions in Baguio were not, however, marriages, and there was no misrepresentation that they were.  They were not advertised as such, announced as such, and were not submitted to the NSO as such.

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