Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Illinois starting next June. That much is clear from the bill passed by the state legislature Nov. 5, which Gov. Pat Quinn was expected to sign into law Nov. 20. But what further consequences it will have remain unclear, said Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. The law makes clear that clergy from churches that believe marriage can only exist between a man and a woman — as the Catholic Church teaches — will not have to officiate at same-sex weddings, and those churches will not be required to host marriage ceremonies between two men or two women. But no one knows just how far those rights go, Gilligan said. Is it possible that facilities owned by the church that are not worship sites, such as banquet rooms or halls, would have to be made available to same-sex couples for their weddings or wedding receptions? Maybe, he said. Individual Catholics who object to same-sex marriage and offer services used by couples getting married, such as photographers, florists and bakers, could also be prohibited from refusing to serve same-sex couples, Gilligan said. Those issues might have to be settled through litigation, and the lawsuits would likely not be based on the same-sex marriage law, but the Illinois Religious Freedom Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. There have been similar lawsuits in New Mexico and Oregon, states that already allow same-sex marriage, Gilligan said. The lack of clarity “was one of those things we kept bringing up multiple times in the debate, but they really did not want to deal with it,” Gilligan said. In a letter that Cardinal George asked to be distributed to all parishioners the weekend of Nov. 16-17, he explained why the church had tried to persuade lawmakers not to allow same-sex marriage. “We tried to explain that this is not primarily a religious issue, since marriage comes to us from nature as the union of a man and a woman, long before Christ walked the earth or the state came into being,” the cardinal wrote. “Nevertheless, there will be consequences for the church and society that will become clearer as the law is used to sue for discrimination. The law has made some gays and lesbians happy, and that is not a bad thing in itself. The law, however, is bad law because it will contribute over the long run to the further dissolution of marriage and family life, which are the bedrock of any society. “The church will therefore continue and strengthen her ministry to families,” Cardinal George wrote. “We have lived with bad laws before, and we will do our best to adjust to this one for the sake of social harmony.”