Follow the lead of that Chicago group

Thirty local priests have signed a strongly worded letter protesting what they call violent language toward homosexuals in a Vatican document.

The 12-page Vatican document discourages same-sex marriage and instructs Catholic lawmakers to vote against proposals that would allow the marriages.

“Language can destroy or build up,” said the Rev. Joe Marcoux, a signer of the letter who serves Sacred Heart Cathedral, Holy Rosary and Most Blessed Blood parishes in Rochester. “These people have value in our church. They have gifts that our church needs. Every person has an inherent dignity because he or she was created in God’s image.”