Gay marriage plaintiffs named ‘persons of the year’

The National Catholic Reporter has named Greg Bourke and Michael DeLeon of Louisville its persons of the year for 2015  for their “historic roles” as plaintiffs in the U. S. Supreme Court case that resulted in a June 26 decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the country.

 

The independent weekly newspaper based in Kansas City, Mo. made the announcement in an editorial published online Monday that said Bourke and De Leon are a “Catholic couple who can — and do — tell the story of the benefits of same-sex marriage.”

 

DeLeon said Tuesday that the paper’s leaders are known for their progressive views and that the message the honor sends is that there’s more to Catholicism in a broader sense than just the general views of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

 

DeLeon, 57, and Bourke, 58, are longtime members of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in St. Matthews, and “We’ve been encouraged by peers to leave” and “a lot of people wonder why we stay,” DeLeon said Tuesday.  “But you don’t change anything by leaving something. There’s no good reason to leave.”

 

The congregation is “like a family” and “we interact with all ages,”  he said. They have participated at the church for about 28 years and became more active after they began raising their two children, Bella, 16, and Isaiah, 18, DeLeon said.

 

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