CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MICHIGAN STEPS UP CAMPAIGN FOR MARRIAGE AMENDMENT: From the Detroit Free Press

Catholic Church leaders in Michigan have decided to mount a full-blown effort to win approval of Proposal 2 -- the constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman -- comparable to church participation in campaigns for school vouchers and against physician-assisted suicide.

In a letter to be sent this week to each of the more than 800 parishes in the state, Michigan's six bishops assert that "we must reaffirm marriage as the basic institution of all human society."

Voting for Proposal 2 will help to "ensure that the meaning of marriage is secured and preserved," according to the bishops' letter.

Parish priests are being asked to sermonize on the issue this weekend and show a videotape produced by the Archdiocese of Detroit featuring Cardinal Adam Maida. The Catholic Church's support for the proposal will include financial contributions. But Paul Long, executive director of the Michigan Catholic Conference, said this week that each diocese will decide the extent of its financial support. ...

The conference is also sending out promotional literature by mail to 500,000 Catholic households. "In the end, if people are well educated about what is at stake ... they'll approve Proposal 2," Long said. ...

A Free Press poll of Michigan voters last week found that Catholics supported Proposal 2 nearly 2 to 1, 62 percent to 34 percent. ...

Opponents of the proposal say it would stop private and public employers from providing health care and other benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees. Backers of the proposal say the measure would not affect the private sector or existing labor agreements with same-sex benefits in the public sector. But they agree that new contracts for public employees could not offer the benefits if the measure passes.

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