Filipino Archbishop Says Gay Men and Lesbians Can Marry — Each Other

A Roman Catholic archbishop in the Philippines announced a way that gay and lesbian Catholics can marry and earn the church's blessing. All they have to do is marry each other, reports Salon.

"May a lesbian marry a gay man?" Archbishop Oscar Cruz asked earlier this week at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal. "My answer is 'yes,' because in that instance the capacity to consummate the union is there. The anatomy is there. The possibility of conception is there."

But Archbishop Cruz was careful to clarify that the Roman Catholic Church will never recognize same-sex unions, no matter what they're called, or what numerous federal courts continue to declare about the fundamental nature of the freedom to marry.

"For the church, even if you turn it upside down and call it by another name, it would still not be marriage," said Cruz, according to Salon. "For the church, even if a hundred [judges] bless a same-sex wedding, it would still not be effective."

But a marriage between a gay man and a lesbian is not only effective, but sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, according to Cruz. Unless either spouse actually confesses to their homosexuality, which Cruz confirmed is reasonable cause for annulment in the Catholic Church, even if it's a provision rarely invoked.

"More often, it's about psychological problems," Cruz said, "meaning there is some kind of mental impairment or emotional disturbance."