The “
different interpretations” of marriage and the family, as well as those regarding the complementarity / distinction between the sexes, generate “
confusion” and
“instability.” The Costa Rican Bishops reiterated this, in a renewed statement on the proposed “
Law on the Young Person.” In December of last year, the Latin American bishops already issued a statement for the “
Respect of Marriage and the Family.” Msgr. Oscar Gerardo Fernández Guillén, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Costa Rica, has sent a letter to the Costa Rican President, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, to the delegates and judges, reaffirming the position of the Catholic Church, in line with the National Code of the Family: «
Marriage exists only between two people of the opposite sex». In article 14, the State Law declares that «
marriage between persons of the same sex is legally impossible».
The due respect, without discrimination, for gay people «cannot in any way lead to the approval of the behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions», the Costa Ricans Bishops say, thus confirming the official declaration made a few months ago: «The Catholic Church holds that the human person created in the image of God is worthy of all respect, and rejects all forms of discrimination against his/her dignity. But, it is necessary to reflect first of all on the difference between homosexual behavior as a private phenomenon and this behavior in the public sphere, where it is legally prescribed, approved and transformed into an institution that is protected and promoted by the legal system».
Consequently, at the end of the letter, the Bishops call the State authorities to «defend the constitutional principles, because marriage between a man and a woman is the essential basis of the family, which is the natural and fundamental unit of society»; and they invite the agents of social communications and information to «use the media to promote the true values, in order to give courage to Costa Rica’s society».
