"As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives" (Para 17).
"This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will" (Para 20).
Here we see Pope Paul VI explain the tradition of marraige being SOLELY with a man and a woman. He says it is "exclusive to them alone" and implies that it cannot be included to a homosexual couple. In the second quote, the words free will are what stood out to me. Homosexuals also have the "compound of sense and spirit" and desire to share the same marital experience as "an act of free will". However, in our supposedly free country, the majority of the states cannot grant this right to many of its citizens.
Politically this is wrong and against what our founding fathers had sought out in the beginning when writing the Bill of Rights. In the Bill of Rights the very first amendment is freedom of religion along with speech, press, and petition (1st link). Now some may think what homosexuality has to do with religion but it is in fact a religion of its own. There is an actual website called gaychurch.org (2nd link) where you can search for any of the listed 6,700 gay churches around the world including the United States. It seems that if the state cannot grant homosexuals the right to marraige, it would seem that they are going against the first amendment and denying their religion.
Not only does this issue strike politically but also socially and psychologically. Now more than ever we see kids getting bullied for their sexual orientation and worse, committing suicide due to the anxieties of the bullying. Tehachapi was one of these kids who could not take the stress of being harrassed for who he is (3rd link). Reasons such as these are why the anti-gay bullying campaign "It gets better" have been founded to help causes like these. (video and 4th link).
We are all subjects of different cultures and subcultures and the sooner we realize and can respect the differences and perspectives the better. It is ok to kindly disagree on issues and matters but it is not ok to deny rights or harrass others for these differences. Pope Paul VI can lead and advise Christians but cannot criticize the world or society for how others live their lives.
I feel it's truly a sad fact that the human race is unable to accept differences between people. Gay people have just as much of a right to love and marry as straight people. It seems ironic to me that a religious figure, such as the Pope, would advocate the discrimination of homosexuals, when Jesus preached about accepting others.
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