Catholics ‘out-marketed’ on gay marriage, NY archbishop says

As Illinois becomes the 16th state to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on Sunday said the debate is not over.

{mosads}He points to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which found laws restricting abortion unconstitutional.

“Everyone said, ‘this is a foregone conclusion, it’s going to be back-burnered,’ ” he told NBC’s David Gregory on “Meet the Press.” “To this day, it remains probably the most divisive issue in American politics. If you look at some of the changing attitudes, you say, ‘Wow. We’re beginning to affect the young with the pro-life message.’ ”

Dolan, however, says the Catholic Church has been “out-marketed” in the same-sex marriage debate.

“Sometimes we’ve been caricatured as being anti-gay,” he said. “And as much as we say we’re pro-marriage, we’re not anti anybody … When you have forces like Hollywood, when you have forces like politicians and opinion molders behind it, it’s a tough battle.”

He does admit that those who believe most in “traditional marriage,” that of marriage between one man and one woman, are ceding ground in the debate.

“I think I’d be a Pollyanna to say there doesn’t seem to be kind of a stampede to do this,” Dolan said. “I regret that.”