The Innocence of Common Sense and the Deconstruction of Marriage

The Innocence of Common Sense and the Deconstruction of Marriage | John S. Hamlon | Catholic World Report

The world needs to hear the deep, life-giving, theological resonance of God’s plan for marriage and family


Recently,
Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. bishops'
Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, gave an address at the
March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. He focused on the common sense argument
that all children deserve mothers and fathers. First, though, he effused peace and well-being: “We love you
(the opposition)… and want you to be happy… we don’t hate you… we want to be your
friends… try to understand our position, as we will try to do the same for
you.” Those disarming, unfeigned words
reminded me of Herman Melville’s classic tale of innocence, Billy Budd.
Melville describes British-frigate sailor Budd as “Adam presumably might
have been ere the urbane Serpent wriggled himself in his company.” In other
words, Adam before the fall.


Billy
Budd sees everything through a perfectly smooth lens, neither convex nor
concave. For him, reality has no
laminated layers, therefore, no distortions. He wishes everyone well. He cannot recognize evil, even at nose-length. To his shipmates, he is, at once,
astonishing and endearing. Such uprightness
and transparency, as we know, attracts subterfuge and darkness. Therein lies the story.


Archbishop Cordileone has a depth and charism that the character Budd does not
have. And the archbishop understands,
far better than most, the Catholic vision of marriage and family. In his talk, I craned to hear something
of that depth, something beyond the natural premises (as important as they are)
that connect marriage to children, and children to marriage. I wanted to hear a couple of
lines designed for those who believe in God, lines that had a memorable ring
and some theological content. For
instance: “Man becomes an image
of God not so much in the moment of solitude as in the moment of communion
[marriage]” (TOB, 9.3). But the talk was woven, beginning to
end, with a natural warp and woof.


Marriage
has an inner truth with two
parts: first, in terms of self-gift, marriage reflects the internal life of the
Trinity; second, married love is procreative precisely because it images creative love.

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