That was the warning issued by researcher Kaya Oakes after an historic 5-4 US Supreme Court ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry throughout the nation.

The ruling's interpretation of the US Constitution means that states must grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognise lawful same-sex marriages conducted in other states.

Ms Oakes, who studies how young people interact with faith, said the Church risks alienating at least two generations of believers if its leaders issue a "defensive, strident" reaction.

"Catholics under 50 were brought up in a time when same-sex relationships were more and more accepted and presented to them in media, so they're acclimated to that as a fairly normal thing," she said.

"When they hear the opposite message coming from faith leaders, it's alienating."

She said that at the parish level, some priests are good at engaging young adults on this issue.

But, institutionally, the Church's message has been perceived as "rejection, intolerance, and bigotry".

"Even just a change of tone would be a step in the right direction," she said.

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, called the Supreme Court's decision "a tragic error".

Comparing this to the 1973 Roe V Wade Supreme Court abortion ruling , Archbishop Kurtz said "Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail".

"Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage."

Bishop Michael Jarrell of Lafeyette said the ruling would create conscience problems for many Catholics, especially those in public office.

He urged Catholics not to attend same-sex marriage ceremonies.

US bishops have expressed fears as to the ramifications of the Supreme Court's decision on the Church's ability to operate in the public sphere.

The Obama administration has hinted that the tax-exempt status of some institutions could be at risk over the issue.

In their dissenting opinion, the Supreme Court justices who made up the minority also expressed fears over Americans' rights to express dissent.

Sources

• Crux
• National Catholic Reporter
• CBS
• Catholic News Agency
• Catholic News Agency
• The Atlantic
• Image: PRI

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz is one of four US prelates who will attend the synod in October.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register, he was asked what message he would carry to Rome.

Archbishop Kurtz replied: "The dimension that I would bring is the unity and integrity of how we worship, how we believe and how we provide pastoral care."

"It will be very important that there is not a gap between the way we worship, believe and provide pastoral care," he said.

Asked about pastoral care, Archbishop Kurtz mentioned a principle he was taught in the seminary: "Sacraments are for people."

"So we do have a responsibility as bishops to first ensure the integrity of the sacrament, but also to ensure that we are looking at ways to reach out to others."

Archbishop Kurtz cited the Holy Father's "effort to form a committee to explore how the process of granting annulments might be streamlined and how unnecessary roadblocks might be removed, without doing violence to Church teaching".

Archbishop Kurtz also said the synod will have to look at how the Church accompanies people in what he called "irregular situations".

"In those cases, it will be the task of the synod to look at many opportunities to provide pastoral care," he said.

"The delegates to the synod will have to evaluate each one of the proposals based on theological guidance [regarding its] effect on the theology of the Eucharist and on our need to be in grace as we approach the sacrament."

The archbishop acknowledged that the Church does allow for adaptations to local culture by local churches.

But these mainly come in the area of liturgy and require special permission, he said.

"These adaptations, however, are not in the area of doctrine," he added.

Sources

• National Catholic Register
• Image: Catholic News Agency

In an interview with NCR, U.S. bishops' conference president Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said the synod is starting a process of discernment among the church's prelates.

"It's not debate," said Kurtz, who heads the Louisville, Ky., archdiocese. "It's discernment."

Likening the process to a family discussion, he continued: "I really do believe that when a family comes together, a family comes together to discern."

"I hope we don't always define that as debate," Kurtz said. "Now, sad would that family be if they didn't have the freedom to express those differences so that they could come together in truth and charity."

The synod, one of two called by Pope Francis for 2014 and 2015 on family life issues, is being held Oct. 5-19 and includes about 190 prelates from around the world.

Kurtz is one of four Americans in the group, joined by Cardinals Raymond Burke, Timothy Dolan and Donald Wuerl.

The synod made global headlines Monday when it released a working document summarizing its first week of discussions, known as a relatio post disceptationem, which called on the church to listen more and to apply mercy much more widely.

This week, the prelates met in 10 working groups, divided by language, to discuss that document and to submit possible revisions.

Those revisions were submitted Thursday morning and are to be used in drafting a final document for the synod for submission to Pope Francis by Sunday.

On Friday, Kurtz said his group focused on conveying a message of openness from the church to people.

Kurtz said when he was a parish priest visiting the houses of his parishioners, he "would seek to acknowledge the good that I saw." Continue reading

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Busted Halo