Posted at: 08/29/2012 10:50 PM
Updated at: 08/29/2012 10:54 PM
By: Brittany Lewis

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Catholics Divided on Marriage Amendment Vote

(ABC 6 News) -- One of the hot button issues on the ballot this November is the marriage amendment. It was front and center as the Catholic Community came out to St. Francis of Assisi Church to voice their opinion.

His message was on the importance of marriage in the Catholic Church and in Society. And he said part of that, is Catholics voting, yes, on the marriage amendment. But not all of the Catholics at the church agreed.

With each light of the candle, Catholic Colette Sweeney, hoped to send a message.

"We want the public to know, we want our church to know that there are many catholics who do not feel that this is fair or in line with the Catholic social teachings," said Sweeney.

Several Catholics held signs protesting Bishop Quinn's visit to Saint Francis of Assisi and his message.

"To preserve marriage here in our state so that marriage is between one man and one woman," said Quinn.

Same-sex marriage is an issue that has divided Catholics across the country. A study put out by the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life last year found that 52% of Catholics supported same-sex marriage, while 37% didn't. Numbers Bishop Quinn disagrees with.

"I go around to the Diocese and the people who are at mass for Sunday liturgies, when I speak about marriage they will say to me, Bishop, we're with you and we want marriage to be defined as a relationship between a man and a woman," he said.

But protesters say, they disagree with that. And, they feel the church isn't allowing them to express their opinions.

"It's having dialogue. It's having openness. Having conversation instead of just telling people that they should or should not do," said Sweeney.

However, Bishop Quinn says, the Church has been very open to conversation about the Amendment.

"There has been various, what I would call, efforts, in this past year for people to learn about the amendment for people to gather and to ask questions.

With more than 1 million Catholics in the state, it's a group that could be a big factor in the outcome of that vote.