The Wisconsin Catholic Bishops have recommended that Catholics vote "yes" on the referendum to ban "any legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage" in the upcoming election. They call this a necessary measure in defense of marriage. So what do I do if my conscience tells me they're wrong? Am I, as a Catholic, duty-bound to vote as my bishops urge?
Catholics, we are taught, have access to God's revelation through three crucial avenues: Scripture, the Church and personal revelation. Each of these must inform this important decision in its own way.
Many advocates of the ban turn to Bible passages interpreted to fit their argument. Catholics have learned from history, though, that the Bible can be used to justify oppressive social practices like racism and sexism that today we know are wrong.
With these atrocities in mind, we should be wary about accepting a handful of Bible verses as means for making a decision. Jesus joined the marginalized at the table as equals, even those who were at the time considered sinners. To vote "yes" on this amendment sends the opposite message to homosexual citizens of Wisconsin, saying "we don't want you at our table."
The Church and Catholic tradition are the other major areas that proponents of a "yes" vote use for support. I have no doubt that the Wisconsin bishops as representatives of the Church have spoken in good faith as disciples of Jesus, but the utter finality of the ban grates on my conscience.
It is Catholic Church teaching, which strongly emphasizes the obligation to follow an informed conscience, that advises me here. As paradoxical as it may sound, my obligation to the Catholic Church is to disagree with the bishops' teaching in the interest of fostering further reflection and discussion.
Personal revelation is informed not only by listening to God speak through Scripture and the Church, but also through our encounters with other people, which includes, for many of us, gay family members or friends. These are often people of good faith for whom we have respect and love and with whom we suffer as they struggle to live in a society that is only slowly accepting them. It is for these friends and family that we must take the questions raised by this issue seriously.
Our generation is more aware of homosexual members of our community than any before. This gives us new opportunities to learn how God means for us to live together. To add this ban to our constitution ruins our chance for discussion and short-circuits the discernment process.
We are at a point in history — a point that has come before with issues of race and gender — where the identity of a group of individuals is becoming clear, but their full participation in our community is yet to be attained. Let us not cut off this process with a premature ban, but rather join them at the table as Jesus did and seek the wisdom of God together.
Hinze is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and the co-director of Student Media Interactive.