Yes, we want separation of church and state. But this decision says nothing about church. It affects only the state's role in marriage.
Here's a concrete example. Two people of the same sex want to marry. They get a marriage license. They find someone who's qualified and willing to marry them. They submit paperwork to the state, proving that they're married, and they become legally married.
The Supreme Court ruling doesn't require someone who's qualified to marry them, unless that qualified person is a state official. It doesn't, for example, require a Catholic priest to marry them. The Catholic church can still prohibit marriages between people of the same sex.
However, for purposes of employment, or involving government contracts, the Catholic church must recognize all legal marriages, including those between people of the same sex. But how much of a change does that actually represent? Before this decision, the Catholic church had to recognize legal non-Catholic marriages of all sorts for those purposes.
Here's a concrete example. Two people of the same sex want to marry. They get a marriage license. They find someone who's qualified and willing to marry them. They submit paperwork to the state, proving that they're married, and they become legally married.
The Supreme Court ruling doesn't require someone who's qualified to marry them, unless that qualified person is a state official. It doesn't, for example, require a Catholic priest to marry them. The Catholic church can still prohibit marriages between people of the same sex.
However, for purposes of employment, or involving government contracts, the Catholic church must recognize all legal marriages, including those between people of the same sex. But how much of a change does that actually represent? Before this decision, the Catholic church had to recognize legal non-Catholic marriages of all sorts for those purposes.