IDEALS COLLIDE OVER SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE DEBATE (Posted: 03/04)

Bush believes that his proposal, an amendment to the Constitution which would limit matrimonial services to male-female couples only, will defend what he calls "the sanctity of marriage." The debate has become a nation-wide topic of discussion, causing many priests, rabbis and other such spiritual leaders to speak out on the subject.

Legendary business mogul Donald Trump has teamed up with Mark Burnett, the executive producer of Survivor, to create "The Apprentice," a reality TV show depicting survival in the business world.

President Bush's recent outcry against same-sex marriages has got everybody talking, especially the religious.

Bush believes that his proposal, an amendment to the Constitution which would limit matrimonial services to male-female couples only, will defend what he calls "the sanctity of marriage." The debate has become a nation-wide topic of discussion, causing many priests, rabbis and other such spiritual leaders to speak out on the subject.

"First we have to ask: What is marriage?" says Father Daniel Rocco of Saint Jude's Catholic Church in Blackwood, New Jersey. "Marriage has always been between a male and a female, with the possibility of having children. That's the definition of marriage."

"In the church, this is a non-question," he continued. "Homosexuals cannot reproduce, and reproduction is an important part of marriage."

Father Rocco does, on the other hand, believe that homosexual couples should be permitted to form civil unions, just so long as they are not performed through the sacrament of marriage.

"Marriage is something completely separate," he said. "What we're talking about is the difference between a covenant and a contract."

"They're trying to change things that you cannot change," he persistently declared. "They should create a new category for the homosexual community."

Still, there are many who believe that Bush's proposal goes against the basic principles of the Constitution.

"What ever happened to equal rights?" asks Mary Zicari, a twenty-year old college student from Rochester, New York. "How can we say that its OK for certain people to get married and others can't? It isn't fair."

Mary Zicari was raised in a Catholic family, and attended a Catholic high school.

"Throughout history we have learned that separate is always unequal," she explained. "United States versus Virginia, where they made Virginia Military Institution coed is one example, segregation of schools is another--the same is applied to gay marriage. Even if gays and lesbians were allowed to be a part of civil unions this still is not equal to marriage. The term 'marriage' holds more meaning than civil unions ever could."

Zicari also disagrees with the belief that homosexual couples should not be allowed to wed under the premise that they cannot conceive children.

"So what?" she says. "There's hundreds of straight families out there who can't conceive children either, but they can still get married. There's absolutely no logic behind that."

Catholics are not the only ones who have offered their opinions about Bush's proposal. Rabbi Josef Gopin of the Chabad House Temple in West Hartford, Conn. was quite adamant in his support of the president's decision.

"I'm very proud of [President Bush]," said Rabbi Gopin, adding that he feels that the proposed amendment, "will keep our people, our morals and our society in line. This is better for society, and better for the world. I think it's wonderful."

Rabbi Gopin continued by offering justification for his thinking.

"God created human beings," he says. "He knows how we should relate to each other."