I am a pastor and have recently moved out of R.I. It grieves me to think that these so-called religious pastors would agree on gay marriages. It is absoulatly against God's word. I don't know what bible they are reading, or if they are reading it at all, but this grieves the spirit of God. I for one, love all, but also hate sin. Pastor Diane M. Valerien, Lakeland, Florida

Meanwhile, faced with yet more evidence the catholic diocese is a playground for child molesters, bishop tobin turns his attention to fighting gay marriage instead.

Oh, so called men of God.

Leviticus 18:22

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

Need I say more!!!

Religious leaders can only do so much on this issue. Also it's moslty up to those who have skeletons in the closet to come out and face the issue head on and not be in denial. In order to properly address the social values about same sex marriage the masks have to come off.
I have a young close relative who is concealing gayness to me.What disturbs me is that there seem to be no commitment to one particular partner.If religious leaders want to tackle this issue,the commitment issue covers all genders.Just because of who you say you are, does not give you the privilege to be reckless to hop from bed to bed.
Does legalizing gay marriage also makes it acceptable to society in general to see homosexuals hold hands and kiss in public places?

BRAVO!!!! I applaud these clergy and their congregants who practice the "Golden Rule".
Decades from now, folks will scratch their heads and wonder what all the fuss was about much as they do now about the controversies, the arrests and the harrassment of interracial marriages in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
Marriage is a personal decision for a gay or lesbian couple just as it is for a straight couple. One's decison does not impact the other's.

Exodus 21:7 says it is okay for me to sell my daughter into slavery. Lev. 15:19-24 prohibits contact with a woman for one week per month. Lev. 25:44 says that I can have slaves purchased from a neighboring country. Exodus 35:2 says we should execute people for working on the sabbath. Eating shellfish is an abomination per Lev. 11:10 Lev. 19:19 says we cannot plant two different crops in the same field. Need I say more? Certain religious figures have chosen to emphasize certain portions of your Bible and clearly ignore others. Where is the Christian love for gays? Jesus explained that the townsperson without sin should cast the first stone. We should ignore that in favor of Fr. Bob's favorite passage?

Pastor Diane, thank you so much for letting us know how faithful you are to every commandment in the Bible. But it seems you've missed one of those commandments:

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law." (I Corinthians 14:34)

So start obeying the Bible ... and "keep silent"! Your support for vicious discrimination against gay people comes from the evil in your heart, not from any inspiration from God. You're fooling no one.

"The modern day pulpit, when faced with the media, usually shrinks back to conform to the message of the "politically-correct culture." The message of the Bible is a difficult one to hear and to follow, because God deals with our sin through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. No one on this planet wants to hear that we all are "sinner's" and have fallen from a right relationship with God. What kind of hopeful message is that? You may say: "Bring some good news" or "get me a better "Self-Help Book" that can make me "feel better" than what your God claims to say! The problem with the human condition is that everyone want to place "a band-aid on the hemorrhage of our sin" and never properly treat the wounds. The reality is that the message of Jesus Christ is the most uncomfortable yet comforting message we can ever hear today! Freedom from our sin seems to be a pretty good offer that Jesus submits to us in His word, but why do we settle for anything less? It is because we would rather live our lives without being accountable or subject to the one who gave us life through His son. We would rather take our lives and live them for ourselves. This results in every kind of evil and SIN! Idolatry is a sin that we all commit! When we place other "gods" before the one true God (such as: pleasures, pursuits, pride, sexually immoralities, power etc.)God is not honored.

We will all have to give account to God one day based on everything that we have said and done! Saying that "homosexuality and same sex marriage is not a sin" is clearly inaccurate in scripture!

These "men of God" will have to give account for these words and actions before God. And that is to be feared above what the media thinks!

SIN is SIN
It must be dealt with!
In the right way!
In LOVE!
In the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior from sin.

YAWN. A marriage is a legal contract between two people issued by the state. The Church's opinion on it shouldn't factor. And who really cares if gays and lesbians marry? If it really bugs you that much you need a hobby.

You know, I think it's about time that people start to get some common sense about gay marriage. We deserve the same RIGHTS as everybody else.
And for those of us gays who also happen to be Christians, this is an even greater step. Because, if I remember correctly, the Bible states that everybody is welcomed into the Church, than none shall be denied a table at the feast of Christ.
And then we get the "Christians" of todays modern world, who have abandoned their faith to follow a religion that teaches nothing but hate for those who differ in some way.
Hey Corey, do you hate lepers, too? People with AIDS? The blind, deaf, and weak?
I don't hate you, because I have the love that was shown to me. It appears that YOU will be the one having to answer for your misdeeds on earth.

Lets get serious. The bible is an outdated book that just isn't progressive and changing with the world. If we were still holding to it, as it is written, the women whom have posted comments to this article would be dead because we would be commanded to throw rocks at them.

Kudos for these clergy who are willing to change!

I just get frightened with people start speaking in absolutes as Rev. Diane has. I would hope that she and others would realize that absolutes are what causes hate based crimes carried out in the name of God. If God were about absolutes, we would all be damned. Thank God God is gracious and loving and NOT given to absolutes.

@BentonQuest

"If God were about absolutes, we would all be damned."

I believe that is an absolute...

And God is a God of absolutes, His wrath and punishment of sin was not removed, it was just placed on Jesus in the place of Christians. If we were not a God of absolutes, Jesus wouldn't of needed to die.

BTW, I'm strongly opposed hate based crimes, by no means should ANY follower of Christ ever lash out at anyone. period. And that's an absolute as well.

I think it's safe to say that your God is a god of absolute absenteeism. If there was ever a time that needed an injection of faith, this would be it. I'll sooner wait for divine intervention from Saint Nick than from other fictional characters like "God" and I certainly don't see why such a character should be a dominating factor in preventing people from exercising their complete rights as American citizens.

@Greg
It's none of the church's business what the state does and doesn't do. America is not a christian nation, and is unfortunately dominated by politicians who believe they are pushing the "Christian" agenda and are imposing Christian morality which is intended only for Christians on the rest of the country. Why the state needs "religious leader's" affirmation on any decisions they make is beyond me.

And to address your comment on God's absenteeism. What exactly are you expecting him to intervene with? What type of "injection of faith" would he provide? Faith in what?