Speaking on behalf of his fellow Catholic bishops in California, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton praised the California Supreme Court for upholding the voters’ affirmation of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The ruling upheld the constitutionality of the state’s Proposition 8 declaring that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Bishop Blaire said he and his fellow bishops “are strongly committed to protecting the dignity and worth of every human person” and supported “the intent of law to provide equal protection for all.”

The intent, however, “does not have to trump the natural and traditional definition of marriage between a man and a woman,” he added. “The law has found other ways to regulate civil unions without destroying the traditional understanding of marriage. We believe—as do the majority of Californians—that marriage between a man and a woman is foundational to our culture and crucial for human perpetuity,” he said.