Catholic schools studying gay unions
Promise to follow court on weddings
With a landmark court ruling allowing same-sex marriage set to take effect tomorrow, officials at area Catholic colleges say that while the ruling conflicts with church teachings, they are prepared to follow it.
''Right now, Regis policy provides that anyone who is married gets health benefits for themselves and their dependents," said Marjorie Arons-Barron, a spokeswoman for Regis College. ''The college is studying the implications of the pending gay marriage law."
The issue has already prompted discussion on the Weston campus of the liberal arts women's college, thanks to a debate and forum held in late March.
Sociology professor Alex Liazos organized the debate, where author E.J. Graff spoke in favor of same-sex marriage and attorney Daniel Avila of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference spoke against it.
Although the topic might seem taboo for a Catholic college, Liazos said 120 people turned out for more than two hours of discussion.
Liazos said he ran into no opposition to holding the forum. For a course he teaches on the sociology of the family, Liazos invites gay and lesbian parents to speak.
''From my point of view, I see same-sex marriage as a step in a long historical development," he said. ''Which is not to say it's not a momentous change. It is. But basically the history of marriage is that it's always changing."
Avila, associate director for policy and research for the Catholic Conference, said same-sex weddings raise questions about what gender and marriage mean.
He said he appreciated the tough questions he got from Regis students at the forum, which reinforced why the school was a good venue for such a discussion.
''What I see in this debate is a process by which we're coming to grips with, Does it mean anything to be a man or a woman? What would we be losing if marriage becomes an institution indifferent to the presence of both sexes?" Avila said.
Jack Dunn, a spokesman for Boston College, said that although the church opposes same-sex marriage, the university plans to abide by the law. He also said he ''couldn't speculate" on how the college might handle a request from gay or lesbian graduates who might want to marry in one of the Catholic chapels on the campus of their alma mater.
''As a Catholic university, we are committed to upholding church teaching. However, the court's ruling makes it clear that all institutions are expected to abide by the new law effective May 17," he said. ''The SJC decision does not provide exemptions for religious institutions. As a result, we expect to comply with the court ruling regarding same-sex marriage benefits."
Arons-Barron, of Regis, also said college officials had not yet tackled the question of how they might deal with a request from lesbian employees or alumnae who wanted to marry at the campus chapel.
''Everything's under review, but the immediate focus has been on the implications for the benefits policy," she said.
Boston College law professor Scott FitzGibbon said that while he could not speak for the law school or the university, student housing is one area of potential concern.
''It seems to me that one acute area of potential moral conflict for a Catholic university would arise if it was asked or pressured to provide married student housing for gay couples," he wrote in an e-mail. ''It seems to me that no Catholic university should do such a thing."
Rhonda Stewart can be reached at rstewart@globe.com. 