WASHINGTON (CNS): The president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has deplored a US Supreme Court decision on June 26 which overturned state laws that made sodomy between consenting adults illegal.
Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Illinois said the decision reduces respect for human sexuality and the family.
He said in a statement dated June 27 that the Supreme Court in its Lawrence vs Texas decision chose “to view homosexual behaviour between consenting adults as a matter of privacy”.
“However, human sexuality cannot be viewed this way,” he said. “Sexual activity has profound social consequences which are not limited to those immediately engaged in sexual acts. For this reason, the larger society has always shown a concern about what is and is not acceptable in sexual behaviour between individuals.”
In its 6-3 decision overturning laws in Texas and about a dozen other states, the Supreme Court said the due process clause of the US Constitution protects homosexual couples’ right to engage in sexual practices without intervention by the government.
