NJ Bishops Denounce Marriage Bill

The Archdiocese of Newark has issued a letter denouncing New Jersey's pending marriage equality bill. It begins:

Marriage as a union of a man and a woman has its roots in natural law. Throughout all of human history marriage has been held to be a union of man and woman. Marriage as a union of man and woman existed long before any nation, religion, or law was established. Marriage which unites mothers and fathers in the work of childrearing is the foundation of the family and the family is the basic unit of society. Sadly, the institution of marriage is being challenged by a society so concerned with individual freedom that some view marriage as a temporary or disposable convenience. Now, there is even an attempt in the New Jersey legislature to pass a law that would change the very definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman. As citizens, we must protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Same sex unions may represent a new and a different type of institution – but it is not marriage and should not be treated as marriage.

One sentence in the letter leaps out as suspiciously similar to a line often spewed by Slaggie Giliamonster: "But it is not 'unjust discrimination' to treat different things differently." I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Vatican-backed NOM provided the template for the above-linked letter.