Free Republic

Boston-AP) -- The Catholic Church in Massachusetts may be open to extending some benefits to gay couples. That was the message of Worcester Bishop Daniel Reilly at today's Statehouse hearing on legalizing gay marriage. Reilly said the church is firmly against gay marriage and civil unions, but believes that the state should provide gay couples with certain economic and social benefits, including bereavement and hospital visitation rights. Gay rights advocates welcomed the Catholic Church to the debate, but said that denial of marriage would be a violation of same-sex couples' civil rights. The Judiciary Committee today hosted the first-ever legislative...

BOSTON (AP) Worcester Bishop Daniel P. Reilly announced Wednesday that he would not attend commencement at the College of the Holy Cross, which planned to bestow an honorary degree on TV talk show host Chris Matthews, who supports abortion rights. Reilly said in a statement that he made the decision ''with a heavy heart,'' as he wanted to personally offer his congratulations to the class of 2003 on Friday. But he said he could not attend because of the Worcester school's plan to honor ''a Catholic person who publicly espouses the view that, in some cases, people have a right...