California and Colorado voted to repeal amendments that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, while Hawaii is on track to repeal its traditional definition of marriage, though it has not yet been called.
The state constitutions of California, Colorado, and Hawaii defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but the results of these measures on the 2024 election ballots are set to remove this traditional definition.
The removal of the long-standing language on marriage is largely symbolic since the U.S. Supreme Court already legalized same-sex marriage in all U.S. jurisdictions in its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Nonetheless, in 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its constitutional provision defining marriage as between a man and a woman. California, Colorado, and Hawaii joined the ranks this year, removing the definition.
Colorado
In a roughly 63% to 36% vote, Colorado removed language from its constitution that recognized marriage as “only a union of one man and one woman.”
The Colorado bishops made a statement opposing the “Protecting the Freedom to Marry” or Amendment J earlier this year, saying that it was “imperative” for faithful Catholics to oppose the amendment as well as a pro-abortion amendment that would enshrine abortion as a right in the state’s constitution.
The main proponent of Amendment J, Freedom to Marry Colorado, raised more than $760,000 and spent less than $600,000 of it. State Rep. Scott Bottoms and the Colorado bishops voiced opposition to the measure, but there was no organized campaign opposing the measure, according to Ballotpedia.
California
Californians overwhelmingly supported removing the state’s traditional definition of marriage from the constitution in a 61% to 38% vote. The amendment not only removed the definition of marriage, like Colorado’s, but also added the “right to marry” as a “fundamental right” in the state’s constitution.
The California Catholic bishops did not take a stance on the measure, though groups including the California Family Council voiced opposition to it, citing concerns that it could eliminate safeguards and lead to the legalization of other irregular forms of marriage. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California voiced support for the measure.
Like Colorado, there were no reported campaigns against the measure. Campaigns supporting the measure totaled more than $3.4 million in funding.
Hawaii
While Hawaii has not yet called the results of its marriage amendment, the state is on track to repeal the Legislature’s power to limit marriage to one man and one woman. Though it is the closest of the three states, Amendment 1 is still more than 10 points ahead, according to the New York Times.
Of the 76% of votes counted in Hawaii, about 56% voted yes for Amendment 1, while about 43% voted no. In Hawaii, blank votes are considered no votes. The amendment needs 51% to pass.
Like Colorado and California, there were no reported campaigns against it. Supporters had $79,000 in funding.
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and the Democratic Party of Hawaii, among others, voiced support for the measure. The Hawaii Catholic bishops did not take a stance on the measure.
Same-sex marriage in the U.S.
According to a 2023 Pew Research survey, 63% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be legal, while 34% are against it. Support for same-sex marriage increased steadily in the U.S. from 2004 to 2017 while remaining steady since, according to Pew.
The ballot measures in California and Colorado reflect this survey, with similar numbers from their voters.
In point No. 46 of their 2023 document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States,” the U.S. bishops state that “the family — based on marriage between a man and a woman — is the first and fundamental unit of society and is a sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children. It should be defended and strengthened, not redefined, undermined, or further distorted. Respect for the family should be reflected in every policy and program.”
In addition, the Catholic Church teaches that “homosexual persons are called to chastity” and that homosexual acts are contrary to natural law and close the sexual act off from the gift of life, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Nos. 2359, 2357). The catechism also condemns any “unjust discrimination” toward people with homosexual inclinations.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
From left to right: Abe Bueno-Jallad (Big James), Noah James (Andrew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Shahar Isaac (Simon Peter), Luke Dimyan (Judas), and Paras Patel (Matthew) of “The Chosen.” / Credit: EWTN Screenshot/Francesca Fenton/CNA
… […]
Catholics join in prayer for the 2019 International Week of Prayer and Fasting at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. / Credit: IWOPF
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 11, 2024 / 09:25 am (CNA).
Cat… […]
An artist’s rendering of the affordable apartment complex soon to be built by Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance in Los Angeles. / Courtesy of Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance
St. Louis, Mo., Aug 26, 2024 / 06:30 am (CNA).
Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities in the United States, with an average home price almost touching a million dollars in 2024 — a landscape that crowds out not only the poor, but also young families with children. The high cost of housing is one of the primary reasons why tens of thousands of people live on the streets of LA, and most of those who are housed are “rent burdened,” which means they spend more than 30% of their income just keeping a roof over their heads.
In the face of such challenges, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recently announced it will provide land for a new housing development dedicated to serving community college students and young people exiting the foster care system.
Amy Anderson, executive director of Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing alliance and a former chief of housing for the City of Los Angeles, told EWTN News that a group of Catholic lay leaders from the business and philanthropic community reached out to the archdiocese with a vision for creating an independent, nonprofit affordable housing development organization.
“Our vision is to really collaborate with the archdiocese and [use] the resources potentially available from the archdiocese to create homes that are affordable to a wide range of populations and incomes,” Anderson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol.
She said they hope to break ground on the project, known as the Willowbrook development, “about a year from now.”
“The archdiocese is a fantastic partner. They are providing the land for our first development, which is already in process, and we’re working really closely with them to identify additional opportunities.”
The proposed building, which will be located steps from Los Angeles Community College, will feature 74 affordable housing units, as well as “on-site supportive services” for young people transitioning out of foster care — a population that often ends up experiencing homelessness.
The land, located at 4665 Willow Brook Ave just a few miles from the Hollywood Sign, currently hosts a Catholic Charities building, which will move its operations to another site to make way for the apartments.
“Through Catholic Charities and our ministries on Skid Row [an LA street where many unhoused people live] and elsewhere, we have been working for many years to provide shelter and services for our homeless brothers and sisters,” Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement to LAist.
“With this new initiative we see exciting possibilities to make more affordable housing available, especially for families and young people.”
Making land work for mission
The Catholic Church is often cited as the largest non-governmental owner of land in the entire world, with an estimated 177 million acres owned by Catholic entities.
Maddy Johnson, program manager for the Church Properties Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate (FIRE), noted that the Church as a large landowner is not a new phenomenon, but there is a need today to adapt to modern challenges like regulations, zoning, and the importance of caring for the natural environment.
Many Catholic dioceses and religious orders have properties in their possession that aren’t fulfilling their original purpose, including disused natural land and parking lots, as well as shuttered convents and schools. Sometimes, Johnson said, a diocese or religious order doesn’t even realize the full extent of what they own.
“How can the Church make good strategic decisions, strategic and mission-aligned decisions, if it doesn’t know what properties it’s responsible for?” she said.
The Church of St. Agatha and St. James in Philadelphia, with The Chestnut in the foreground, a housing unit developed on property ground-leased from the church. Courtesy of Maddy Johnson/Church Properties Initiative
Since real estate management is not the Church’s core competency, FIRE aims to “provide a space for peer learning” to educate and equip Church leaders to make better use of their properties in service of the Church’s mission.
To this end, they offer an undergraduate minor at Notre Dame that aims to teach students how to help the Church make strategic real estate decisions that align with the Church’s mission. The Institute also organizes a quarterly networking call with diocesan real estate directors, as well as an annual conference to allow Catholic leaders to convene, share best practices, and learn from each other.
Fr. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C., a professor at Notre Dame Law School and faculty co-director of the Church Properties Initiative, conducts a workshop for diocesan leaders on Notre Dame’s campus in summer 2023. Courtesy of David J. Murphy/Church Properties Initiative
In many cases, Catholic entities that have worked with FIRE have been able to repurpose properties in a way that not only provides income for the church, but also fills a need in the community.
Johnson said the Church is called to respond to the modern problems society faces — one of which is a lack of housing options, especially for the poor.
“Throughout its history, there have been so many different iterations of how the Church expresses its mission…through education, healthcare — those are the ones that we’ve gotten really used to,” Johnson said.
“In our day and age, could it be the need for affordable housing?…that’s a charitable human need in the area that’s not being met.”
Unlocking potential in California
Queen of Angels Housing’s first development, which has been in the works for several years, is being made possible now by a newly-passed state law in California that aims to make it easier for churches to repurpose their land into housing.
California’s SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, was signed into law in October 2023. It streamlines some of the trickiest parts of the process of turning church-owned land into housing — the parts most people don’t really think about. These can include permitting and zoning restrictions, which restrict the types of buildings that can be built in a given area and can be difficult and time-consuming to overcome. SB 4 even includes a provision allowing for denser housing on church-owned property than the zoning ordinances would normally allow.
Yes in God’s Backyard
The law coming to fruition in California is part of a larger movement informally dubbed “Yes in God’s Backyard,” or YIGBY — a riff on the term “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY), a phenomenon whereby neighbors take issue with and oppose new developments.
Several Catholic real estate professionals with ties to California expressed excitement about the possibilities that SB 4 has created in the Golden State.
Steve Cameron, a Catholic real estate developer in Orange County, told CNA that he is currently working with the Diocese of Orange, which abuts the LA archdiocese, to inventory properties that could be repurposed for residential use.
He said their focus is on building apartment buildings and townhomes, primarily for rental rather than for sale, in an attempt to address the severe housing shortage and high costs in Southern California.
Unlike some dioceses, the Orange diocese has an electronic GIS (geographic information system) database showing all the properties it owns. Prepared by a civil engineering firm, the database includes details such as parcel numbers, acreage, title information, and demographic reports, which facilitate the planning and development process.
“Strategically, what we’re doing is we’re inventorying all of the property that the diocese and the parishes own, and trying to understand where there might be underutilized property that would make sense to develop some residential use,” Cameron said.
Cameron said he can’t yet share details about the housing projects they’re working on, but said they are looking to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Queen of Angels housing project as a model for how to take advantage of the new incentives created by SB 4.
“I think it’s great, and it’s exciting that they’re taking the lead and that they are able to find an opportunistic way to repurpose an underutilized property to meet the housing shortage in California,” he said.
“[We] look at them as a role model for what we’re trying to accomplish here in the Diocese of Orange.”
Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago with One Chicago Square in the background, a residential tower constructed on the former cathedral parking lot, which was sold in 2019. Courtesy of Maddy Johnson/Church Properties Initiative
John Meyer, a former president of the California-based Napa Institute who now works in real estate with J2 Development, emphasized the importance of viewing the Church’s vast real estate holdings as an asset rather than a liability.
Meyer said he is currently working with two Catholic entities on the East Coast on ground lease projects, one of which will fund the construction of a new Catholic Student Center at a university. He told CNA he often advises Catholic entities to lease the land they own rather than selling it, allowing the church to maintain ownership of the property while generating income.
Naturally, he noted, any real estate project the Church undertakes ought to align with the Church’s mission of spreading the Gospel, and not merely be a means of making money.
“Any time we look at the Church’s real estate decisions, it’s got to be intertwined with mission and values,” he said.
“We’re not just developing for the sake of developing. What we want to do is we want to create value for the Church, and we also want to create value for the community. So working closely with the municipality to make sure that needs are met, and to be a good neighbor, is important.”
He said Church leaders should strongly consider taking advantage of incentives in various states such as California for projects like affordable housing, which align with the Church’s mission and provide both social and financial benefits.
“Priests and bishops aren’t ordained to do these things, and sometimes they have people in their diocese that have these abilities, and sometimes they don’t,” Meyer said.
“This [new law] in California has created an incentive that we can take advantage of, so we need to take advantage of that incentive…it’s allowing us to unlock potential value in land while at the same time serving a social good that’s part of the mission of the Church.”
Some Catholic bishop (if we could find one) should most publicly instruct the citizens of these States that Man does not get to define marriage. Marriage is a relationship that has been defined already by the Creator of Man. Therefore, their exercise in replacing the Creator with themselves holds no water. It make no difference at all what the citizens of these States say. But we do need at least the bishops of these States to remind them of this. They may simply state this: “Man gets to designate what the speed limit on their highways is but Man does not get to decide what marriage is.” (Just as Man does not get to decide the sex of human persons since the Creator has already done that as Creator. They are: male and female.)
Good for California, Colorado and Hawaii. Love is Love and Marriage is a binding contract between lovers. Catholic church do what do best at: minding your own business!
Once you no longer require that in order to be married, a man and woman must have both the ability and desire to exist in relationship as husband and wife, you invalidate the validity of a valid marriage, and any relationship can be declared a marriage if one so desires.
The State, having invalidated the validity of a valid marriage , no longer can claim the authority to recognize the fiduciary duty of husband and wife , nor to regulate the marriage contract between husband and wife.
“Oh what a tangled web they weave”, in order to deny the sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, in order to proclaim the non existent equality of sexual acts and sexual relationships, promote pornography, through the sexual objectification of the human person, and deny the inherent Dignity of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.
Love, which is always ordered to the inherent personal and relational Dignity of the human person, is devoid of every form of Lust, and thus is not possessive, nor is it coercive, nor does it serve to manipulate for the sake of self gratification. Love serves only for the Good of those existing in a relationship of Love.
All persons are Called to be chaste in their thoughts, in their words, and in their deeds, and thus respect the inherent Dignity of the human person through acts of Love, not lust.
The problem is not only the redefinition of “marriage,” but first the inability of a female U.S. Supreme Court justice to explain what a “woman” is.
Or, what a man is…
Shortly after the Court legalized same-sex “marriage” in 2015 a young woman, or whatever, took a fancy to an older brick building in the historic district of Seattle. In a backwardist way, she still sported a white wedding gown and publicly married the building.
It was not reported in the worshipful local media how that actually worked out, however, the plumbing system and all. Maybe Colorado, California and Hawaii would like to explain…
It reminds me of a story I read probably ten years ago about an unfortunate soul who married an abandoned train station building because she really liked it.
If I have an area of my life that’s proving to be inadequate, changing the definition of the term, “inadequate” is not a productive way to solve the problem.
What did you expect? Neither major party defends marriage, nor will they change until this country suffers a chastisement which it might or might not survive.
This is all we have to look forward to from politics for the foreseeable future — probably the rest of all our lives.
Some Catholic bishop (if we could find one) should most publicly instruct the citizens of these States that Man does not get to define marriage. Marriage is a relationship that has been defined already by the Creator of Man. Therefore, their exercise in replacing the Creator with themselves holds no water. It make no difference at all what the citizens of these States say. But we do need at least the bishops of these States to remind them of this. They may simply state this: “Man gets to designate what the speed limit on their highways is but Man does not get to decide what marriage is.” (Just as Man does not get to decide the sex of human persons since the Creator has already done that as Creator. They are: male and female.)
Good for California, Colorado and Hawaii. Love is Love and Marriage is a binding contract between lovers. Catholic church do what do best at: minding your own business!
Once you no longer require that in order to be married, a man and woman must have both the ability and desire to exist in relationship as husband and wife, you invalidate the validity of a valid marriage, and any relationship can be declared a marriage if one so desires.
The State, having invalidated the validity of a valid marriage , no longer can claim the authority to recognize the fiduciary duty of husband and wife , nor to regulate the marriage contract between husband and wife.
“Oh what a tangled web they weave”, in order to deny the sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, in order to proclaim the non existent equality of sexual acts and sexual relationships, promote pornography, through the sexual objectification of the human person, and deny the inherent Dignity of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.
Love, which is always ordered to the inherent personal and relational Dignity of the human person, is devoid of every form of Lust, and thus is not possessive, nor is it coercive, nor does it serve to manipulate for the sake of self gratification. Love serves only for the Good of those existing in a relationship of Love.
All persons are Called to be chaste in their thoughts, in their words, and in their deeds, and thus respect the inherent Dignity of the human person through acts of Love, not lust.
The problem is not only the redefinition of “marriage,” but first the inability of a female U.S. Supreme Court justice to explain what a “woman” is.
Or, what a man is…
Shortly after the Court legalized same-sex “marriage” in 2015 a young woman, or whatever, took a fancy to an older brick building in the historic district of Seattle. In a backwardist way, she still sported a white wedding gown and publicly married the building.
It was not reported in the worshipful local media how that actually worked out, however, the plumbing system and all. Maybe Colorado, California and Hawaii would like to explain…
Very sad.
It reminds me of a story I read probably ten years ago about an unfortunate soul who married an abandoned train station building because she really liked it.
If I have an area of my life that’s proving to be inadequate, changing the definition of the term, “inadequate” is not a productive way to solve the problem.
What did you expect? Neither major party defends marriage, nor will they change until this country suffers a chastisement which it might or might not survive.
This is all we have to look forward to from politics for the foreseeable future — probably the rest of all our lives.
Wasn’t it our present Catholic president who officiated at the “marriage” of two homosexual men and to whom most Catholics gave their vote in 2020?