Before Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina became known as Pope Francis, he stated that gay marriage is “an anthropological step backward…But if they’re granted marriage rights and can adopt, there could be children affected. Every person needs a masculine father and a feminine mother to help them settle their identity” (This was a sampling from On Heaven and Earth, published in 2012, and also from his authorized biography, The Jesuit, published in 2010 and republished as Pope Francis: Conversations with Jorge Mario Bergoglio). When it comes to identity, our culture has done a disservice to the gay community. Often, homosexuals receive a stigma or label that wrongly gets equated with their identity. This can lead to a form of reductionism, reducing a person to his or her sexual orientation/tendency/inclination as an identity. Same-sex attraction is not an identity but only part of who someone is, namely, one’s sexual orientation, and therefore, can’t describe the whole person. Rather, one’s true identity is a child of God through baptism in which one becomes an adopted, beloved son or daughter of the Father through Jesus Christ.
Like two magnets that attract from opposite charges, a man and a woman attract from opposite genders and further their Christian identity when they enter into the marriage covenant and selflessly give the gift of themselves in love to each other through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Last week, the topic question discussed was “What is marriage?” We understand now that the Supreme Court has legalized “same-sex” marriage in our country. It shouldn’t be a surprise when you consider how it reflects the views that most Americans support gay marriage. In May of this year, Pew Research did a survey and found that 57% of Americans support same-sex marriage, a large increase from 37% back in 2009 (Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/26/same-sex-marriage/). However, no matter what the statistics of the times are, the views of Americans, or what the Supreme Court ruled, it doesn’t change the fact that God’s design from the beginning was and still is that marriage is between one man and one woman, a truth our Church supports. It also doesn’t change the fact that God loves those who have same-sex attraction and those who do not. How many people have same-sex attraction? According to a 2014 National Health Statistics Report (NHSR) listed on the government-run, CDC website (Center for Disease Control), only 1.6% of the population identified themselves as gay or lesbian.
(Source: “Sexual Orientation and Health Among U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey,” NHSR #77, 7/15/14, by Ward, Dahlhamer, Galinski, and Joestl; 2013, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr077.pdf).
So what does our Catholic faith teach us about those who have Same-Sex Attraction (SSA)? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states: “Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures” (CCC 2357). Though homosexuality has been around for thousands of years, I recommend to read the following 2012 article from The Catholic World Report by Benjamin Wiker, Phd. entitled, “Gay Marriage: Nothing New Under The Son,” taken from Ecc. 1:9, in which he addresses homosexuality during Roman times that overlaps during the time of Christ (Source: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1367/gay_marriagenothing_new_under_the_sun.aspx). The Catechism goes on to say that “its (SSA) psychological genesis remains largely unexplained” (CCC 2357). Though there isn’t any explicit and solid evidence that one is born with it (that there is a “gay gene”), one can be predisposed. Michael Voris, from ChurchMilitant.com, has attempted to explain in math equation form why someone may have same-sex orientation, which I found intriguing. It states: genes + brain wiring + prenatal hormonal environment = temperament; parents + peers + experiences = environment; Temperament + Environment = Homosexual Orientation. In addition, SSA is an effect of original sin and yet is still an ongoing mystery. Also, the Catechism states: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved” (CCC 2357). Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who became Pope Benedict XVI) stated in a 1986 letter to the bishops that “special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.” Furthermore, the Catechism states in the definition section of the glossary that “homosexual acts are morally wrong because they violate God’s purpose for human sexual activity.” Notice that it isn’t the Church merely speaking on its own behalf. But it is the Church that echoes God’s design, His plan for human sexuality which involves marriage and family life. The next point of the Catechism states: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided” (CCC 2358). Jesus clearly teaches this in the story about the woman caught in adultery. He says to her, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone (at her)…Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (Jn. 8:1-11). There is a question on the U.S. bishop’s website that answers this question of discrimination. It asks: “6. Does denying marriage to homosexual persons demonstrate unjust discrimination and a lack of respect for them as persons?” The U.S. bishops respond: “It is not unjust to deny legal status to same-sex unions because marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities. In fact, justice requires society to do so. To uphold God’s intent for marriage, in which sexual relations have their proper and exclusive place, is not to offend the dignity of homosexual persons. Christians must give witness to the whole moral truth and oppose as immoral both homosexual acts and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons. It also encourages chaste friendships. ‘Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all’” (www.usccb.org, CCC 2347). The Catechism also says that “homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection” (CCC2359), something we all are called to do with God’s help.
Also, the Catechism reflects the teaching of the Word of God, which inspires Church teaching about marriage, homosexuality and other important topics. Sacred Scripture condemns homosexual acts as it does any sin. There are three examples alone in the letters from St. Paul (Rom. 1:24-27, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 1 Tm. 1:9-10).
In an age of uncertainty, propaganda and lies, people call good evil and evil good (Is. 5:20) including homosexual acts. Woe to our world! Over 40 years ago in the Roe V Wade decision, the Supreme Court legalized abortion that still allows innocent babies to be killed and is thus an attack on life. Now marriage and family are threatened through the legalization of “same-sex” marriage. As a result, our country has put itself in a position to be a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:1-29). May we repent of our sins, turn our lives back to God and heed the words of St. Paul. ““Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” We are also called to love God above all, and love our neighbor as ourselves (Dt. 6:4-9, Mt. 22:36-40, Mk. 12:30-31, Lk. 10:27). In addition, a person with an orientation of “same-sex” attraction does not sin because of who they are or what they have, which would be ridiculous. The orientation is not sinful, but the act (or lifestyle) is sinful and immoral. In other words, “hate the sin – love the sinner,” which is what St. Augustine once said (a quote also found in Mohandas Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography – http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/who-said-love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin). It’s not that people with same-sex attraction can’t love. They most certainly can. But they are called to do it in a chaste way, to love as Jesus loves, to have friendships as Jesus did and not to receive any unjust discrimination for their sexual orientation, something Jesus would be against. St. Paul says, “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). St. Paul also says, “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
In conclusion, the truth of the Church’s teaching on homosexuality or SSA and against homosexual acts will not be compromised. But it can be balanced with love and compassion as well as mercy and forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation accompanied by a welcoming attitude. Marriage is between one man and one woman. Homosexual acts are always wrong and sinful, and it is also wrong and sinful if people with SSA are discriminated against. Rather, they should be treated with “respect, compassion and sensitivity” (CCC 2358). We are called to love them. People with SSA are called to pray, embrace their cross and love through chaste friendships. May we not put labels on people with SSA, and may they, like all of us who have sinned, be challenged to repent and love as Jesus loves. Amen.
– by Fr. Jeff Allan
Other Resources:
1. Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers – A Statement of the Bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/homosexuality/always-our-children.cfm
2. Between Man And Woman: Questions And Answers About Marriage And Same-Sex Unions – Source: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/questions-and-answers-about-marriage-and-same-sex-unions.cfm
3. Courage – Ministry to those with same-sex attraction, founded by the late, Fr. John Harvey, http://www.couragerc.org
4. Encourage – Ministry to parents, friends, and family members who have same-sex attraction, http://www.couragerc.org
5. Letter to The Bishops of The Catholic Church on The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, given by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect for Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on October 1st, 1986.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html
6. Ministry to Persons with A Homosexual Orientation: Guidelines for Pastoral Care, November 5th, 2012.
http://www.usccb.org/about/doctrine/publications/homosexual-inclination-guidelines-table-of-contents.cfm
7. Sacred Scripture: Lev. 18:22, 20:13, Ez. 16:48-50, Jude 1:7
8. Stechshulte, Mike. “What does the Bible teach about marriage?” The Times Herald, July 11, 2015.
"Speak The Truth with Love," A Catholic Blog by Fr. Jeff Allan 