PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- With Rhode Island's Senate Judiciary Committee set to vote Tuesday on same-sex marriage bills, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Diocese of Providence is urging members of the Senate against legalizing gay marriage, warning in a statement Monday that doing so is a "grave risk to our spiritual well being and the common good."
THOMAS J. TOBIN
"As the Rhode Island Senate prepares to take action on legislation that would seek to legitimize 'same-sex marriage,' I once again urge members of the Senate to stand strong in resisting this immoral and unnecessary proposition and to defend marriage and family as traditionally defined. We should be very clear about this: it is only with grave risk to our spiritual well-being and the common good of our society that we dare to redefine what God himself has created. My prayer is that the senators will have all the wisdom and courage they need to do the right thing in this moment of decision."