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MANHATTAN DECLARATION
A Summary
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of
their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked
tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil
society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have
united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice
and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers
and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These
truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of
marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the
rights of conscience and religious liberty. Inasmuch as these
truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of
society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they
are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture,
we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense,
and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what
pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon
or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans
of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the
crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life.
Human Life
The lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are ever
more threatened. While public opinion has moved in a pro-life
direction, powerful and determined forces are working to expand
abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, and
euthanasia. Although the protection of the weak and vulnerable
is the first obligation of government, the power of government
is today often enlisted in the cause of promoting what Pope John
Paul II called “the culture of death.” We pledge to
work unceasingly for the equal protection of every innocent human
being at every stage of development and in every condition. We
will refuse to permit ourselves or our institutions to be implicated
in the taking of human life and we will support in every possible
way those who, in conscience, take the same stand.
Marriage
The institution of marriage, already wounded by promiscuity,
infidelity and divorce, is at risk of being redefined and thus
subverted. Marriage is the original and most important institution
for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. Where
marriage erodes, social pathologies rise. The impulse to redefine
marriage is a symptom, rather than the cause, of the erosion
of the marriage culture. It reflects a loss of understanding
of the meaning of marriage as embodied in our civil law as well
as our religious traditions. Yet it is critical that the impulse
be resisted, for yielding to it would mean abandoning the possibility
of restoring a sound understanding of marriage and, with it,
the hope of rebuilding a healthy marriage culture. It would lock
into place the false and destructive belief that marriage is
all about romance and other adult satisfactions, and not, in
any intrinsic way, about the unique character and value of acts
and relationships whose meaning is shaped by their aptness for
the generation, promotion and protection of life. Marriage is not a “social construction,”
but is rather an objective reality—the covenantal union
of husband and wife—that it is the duty of the law to recognize,
honor, and protect. |
Saturday,
09 January