Detroit — The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to redefine the institution of marriage in the nation’s civil laws drew reactions from Catholic leaders in Michigan and nationwide, with many warning the June 26 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges could open the door to a host of legal challenges for religious organizations.

Through the Michigan Catholic Conference, the bishops of Michigan’s seven dioceses released a joint statement describing the ruling as a “profound legal turning point in the contemporary and cultural understanding of spouses and family” and reiterating the Church’s long-held and unchanging views about the nature and truth of marriage.

“The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is and can only be the union of one man and one woman,” the bishops said. “The union brings two persons together and, because of their natural biological composition, each brings qualities to the marriage that differs from one another.”

The Michigan bishops’ statement emphasized the Church’s teaching that every human deserves love and respect — including same-sex couples and those who support same-sex marriage — but that the Church is duty-bound to proclaim the truth.

“The experience of same-sex attraction is a reality that calls for attention, sensitivity and pastoral care,” they said. “While every person is called to love and deserves to be loved, today’s momentous decision will not change the truth of the Church’s teaching on marriage.”

Despite the court’s ruling, the debate over same-sex marriage and the Church’s role as a voice in the public square is not over, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over 40 years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today,” Archbishop Kurtz said. “Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail.”

Archbishop Kurtz called on Catholics to stand by their convictions in the face of increasingly shifting societal norms.

“Jesus Christ, with great love, taught unambiguously that from the beginning marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman,” he said. “As Catholic bishops, we follow our Lord and will continue to teach and to act according to this truth.

“We encourage Catholics to move forward with faith, hope and love: Faith in the unchanging truth about marriage, rooted in the immutable nature of the human person and confirmed by divine revelation; hope that these truths will once again prevail in our society, not only by their logic, but by their great beauty and manifest service to the common good; and love for all our neighbors, even those who hate us or would punish us for our faith and moral convictions.”

Ominously, Michigan’s bishops predicted the fight will now turn to Catholic individuals and organizations, whose teachings now clash with the law of the land.

“Going forward, the Supreme Court’s decision to redefine marriage will have a significant ripple effect upon the First Amendment right to religious liberty,” the bishops said. “It sets the Church’s teaching about marriage in opposition to the law and will create inestimable conflicts between the state and religious persons and institutions.”

Throughout the county, challenges to religious liberty have already occurred under the guise of inclusiveness, said Erin Mersino, senior trial council at the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor.

“There are public accommodation laws in certain states where homosexuality is a protected class,” Mersino said. “There was a wedding photographer who was fined for not taking romantic pictures.”

Mersino said Michigan has laws protecting faith-based institutions, such as a recent law shielding adoption agencies, but fears the Supreme Court ruling will lead to more challenges.

“We’ve seen a number of different lawsuits challenging and attacking religious institutions,” Mersino said. “With today’s ruling, they will be more emboldened. We are going to see more challenges, and we need to be ready to fight to protect religious freedom.”

The Church already reserves the right to deny heterosexual couples the sacrament of matrimony, so Mersino doesn’t see a legal challenge coming to churches that refuse to marry same-sex couples. But she does see less protection for religious individuals and church ministries to act according to their faith.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in his dissenting opinion in the case, outlined some areas as potentially vulnerable to litigation including tax exemptions, campus housing and academic accreditation for religious institutions that dissent or refuse to accommodate same-sex marriage. Other justices warned of challenges to private businesses and nonprofits that refuse to participate or cooperate in same-sex weddings.

Outside the religious aspect of the ruling, Edward Peters, a civil and canon lawyer and professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, said the ruling creates a precedent of the Supreme Court trumping state and federal legislatures when it comes to lawmaking.

“The legal implications from the decision are just huge,” Peters said. “A majority of the court has claimed the ability to write social policy, even though the justices acknowledge they can’t find the authority to do so in the Constitution. If the Supreme Court can completely override the legislation of all 50 states without Constitutional text to support them, then they can write whatever they want and become the law of the land.”

No matter how the effects of the court’s ruling unfold, the Michigan bishops reaffirmed their commitment to evangelizing and spreading the Church’s message about marriage.

“As the impact of the decision plays out over the coming weeks and months, the Catholic Church will continue to preach the truth about marriage and will promote, in the public square, this truth as what is good for society and our world.”