Legal Marriage

Many church groups are upset about the Kennedy Supreme Court decision of the legality of same sex couple unions, now called marriage in legal circles.  Judge Roberts also disagrees, but it is on legal grounds, i.e. what grounds does the Supreme Court have to make this decision since marriage is not in the constitution.  Again, this is all in the area of legality.  None of this seeks to change what a church thinks is the sacrament of marriage.  The church is about sacraments. The government is about legal issues of marriage, which was the prerogative of the individual states until Kennedy's decision came along.  The Church says what makes the sacrament of marriage.  It is a man and a woman, consenting to a contract, open to having children through sexual intercourse.  The Church can only say what is a sacrament.  It has no jurisdiction on what is legal.  For that matter, the only reason that our sacramental marriage ceremony makes a couple legally married, is because the government says so.  Priests have permission from the state to make things legal by our wedding ceremony.  The state is not telling the church that it has to do anything one way or the other with same sex couples.  The state is saying that there will be no discrimination in the legal field against same sex couples.  They get all the legal rights of marriage.  The Catholic Church used to be able to tell the government of kings and queens what to do in the legal world.  No separation of church and state.  That horse left the barn a long time ago.