We are thrilled to announce the soft launch of Love Means More! The site, formerly Marriage: Unique for a Reason, is now ready for you to visit and share with friends. We are still preparing the site for a full launch in February, so we strongly request your feedback by responding to this email.

Have a blessed Advent, a Merry Christmas, and we will see you in the new year!

Love Means More Sample Question

"Love is love", right? Doesn't that mean same-sex couples can love in the same way as opposite-sex couples?

No. Same-sex and opposite-sex couples might experience similar feelings of romantic commmitment, but the feelings of neither couple are enough on their own to constitute love.

The phrase “love is love” assumes, however, that these feelings are enough. It seems to imply that:

A) same-sex sexual relationships (the first use of “love”) should be recognized as morally and legally equal to opposite-sex marital relationships because…

B) same-sex couples feel the same level of affection and commitment (the second use of “love”) as opposite-sex couples.

Many opponents of same-sex relationships made two mistakes in response. They believed they had to reject B in order to reject A. They also implicitly accepted an assumption, which proponents also accepted:

C) for opposite-sex couples, sexual activity is a manifestation of love if it is motivated by mutual feelings of affection and commitment.

If there was mutual agreement on C, and proponents demonstrated B by their public example, then A necessarily had to follow. Perhaps our culture has taken C as a given, in which case, it has been misled.

Regarding the DDF Declaration on Blessings

The pope approved a Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) Declaration, "Fiducia Supplicans", which addresses the 2021 dubia about same-sex couples and also gives a teaching on the nature of pastoral (non-liturgical) blessings in general apart from same-sex couples.

While the document reiterates multiple times that no blessings should be given which cause confusion about the church's unchanging teaching on same-sex relationships, or give the impression of legitimizing the relationship (which reports in the secular media have already ignored), it also provides an account of informal blessing that can be applied to include sinners. Then it allows for this sort of blessing to be applied to people in irregular relationships. Paragraphs 4 and 24-41 are the most substantial parts of the declaration.

USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi issued the following statement on behalf of the bishops' conference:

“The Declaration issued today by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) articulated a distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings, and pastoral blessings, which may be given to persons who desire God’s loving grace in their lives. The Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings because each of us needs God’s healing love and mercy in our lives.”

Legal/Policy Updates

Biden Administration – The FDA expressed interest in testing the drug estradiol, which is currently prescribed off-label for "gender-affirming" purposes, on children as young as 13.



Senate – A letter signed by 48 senators urged President Biden to require insurance companies to cover over-the-counter hormonal contraception, which the FDA approved earlier in 2023 despite significant warning signs. LMFLY Chairman Bishop Robert Barron criticized the approval.

Courts – The Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging a state's authority to enforce bans on so-called "conversion therapy", even though lower courts issued divergent rulings for Washington and Florida.

The state of Missouri filed suit against the St. Louis clinic that has been at the center of controversy since whistleblower Jamie Reed went public about its dangerous provision of "gender-affirming care" (GAC).

The Virginia Supreme Court reinstated the lawsuit of a teacher who was fired for refusing to use a student's preferred pronouns.

Female college athletes who sued Connecticut's athletic association for allowing female-identifying men to compete in their events were allowed to continue their lawsuit, according to a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

A female detransitioner filed a malpractice suit against University of Wisconsin Hospital surgeons who performed GAC.

A same-sex-attracted Massachusetts man also filed suit against the largest GAC provider in New England, arguing that the treatments amounted to "gay conversion" practices.

A New Jersey father filed suit against his local school board and the state's Department of Education over guidlines encouraging educators to hide children's "gender identity" from parents.

States – Oklahoma's Board of Education prohibited schools from changing student records to reflect "gender identity". Michigan's House of Representatives passed a bill, now before the state's senate, that would require "intended parents" of children born by IVF or surrogacy to be regarded as the legal parents of the children, effectively erasing any relationship with their biological parents.

Education – Virginia high school students protested Loudoun County School District's policy of allowing trans-identifying students to use bathrooms of the opposite sex. Ohio high school students participated in a similar protest against Elida Local School District's bathroom policy.

A Colorado public school assigned an 11-year-old female-identifying boy to sleep in the same bed as a girl on a cross-country overnight school trip, without notifying the girl or her parents.

After the all-female St. Mary's College in South Bend, IN announced that it would accept female-identifying male students' applications, Bishop Kevin Rhoades urged the school to correct its policy in accordance with the truth about human sexuality. The college's leadership subsequently indicated that it would engage in dialogue with Bishop Rhoades. Several other sex-specific Catholic colleges have made similar allowances, including Mount St. Mary's University in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University in the Diocese of St. Cloud, and St. Catherine University in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Sports – The North American Grappling Association updated its rules to prohibit female-identifying men who have undergone puberty from competing against women. World Athletics, World Aquatics, and the International Cycling Union have adopted similar rules.

Polls – A study on American generations found that support for same-sex "marriage" dropped considerably among Generation Z over the last two years. Though those in support are still a significant majority, the majority is smaller than among Millennials.