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The Roman Catholic Church and Homosexuality

Introduction

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Topics covered in this essay:

	Support groups
	Gays in the church
	Early statements by church leaders (1975 to 1997)
	Catechism of the Catholic Church

Support groups:

There are two main support groups for Roman Catholic gays and lesbians:

Dignity, is an independent support group for "lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, their families and friends." ₁They began as a counseling group in San Diego, CA, in 1969, and evolved to be a support group. Dignity became a national organization in 1973. They have 52 chapters in the U.S. The church severed its connections with Dignity in 1986.

Dignity has two main functions: to support sexual minorities, and to "serve as a proactive voice for reform in the Church and society." ₁₁ Their statement of position and purpose states, in part:

"We believe that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons can express their sexuality in a manner that is consonant with Christ's teaching. We believe that we can express our sexuality physically, in a unitive manner that is loving, life-giving, and life-affirming. We believe that all sexuality should be exercised in an ethically responsible and unselfish way.

DIGNITY is organized to unite gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, as well as our families, friends and loved ones in order to develop leadership, and be an instrument through which we may be heard by and promote reform in the Church."

Dignity promotes and end to sexism and homophobia in church and society. They support same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, and an end to discrimination -- both inside the church and in the general culture -- against sexual minorities.

They have sponsored Solidarity Sunday since 1995. It is a day "when Catholics, other Christians and all people are invited to show support for and solidarity with God's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children." It is held on the Sunday before OCT-11, the National Coming Out Day, which is held around the middle of October each year. They promote a Solidarity Pledge and Solidarity Interfaith Prayer. ₁₂

Courage is a small support group that is officially approved by the Church. ₂ It was originally founded in the Archdiocese of New York. They held their first meeting on 1980-SEP. Courage now has "over 90 chapters in the U.S." They accept all of the Church's teaching, including the belief that homosexual orientation is not sinful, because it is beyond an individual's control. They also accept the Church's teaching that same-sex sexual behavior is considered a disordered state. Their main goal is to "establish a spiritual support system for men and women with homosexual inclinations who desire to live chaste lives," and to help them form close same-sex friendships which are non-sexual. They are thus opposed to same-sex committed relationships that are sexually active.

Additional goals are:

	Prayer and dedication: "To dedicate ones life to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist."
	Fellowship: To share their thoughts and experiences about the problems of homosexuality.
	Support: Encourage eath other in forming and sustaining sexually inactive friendships.
	Good example: Live lives that are a good example to others. ₁₀

Their web site has received the Triple Excellency Gold Award for Excellence in Fidelity, Resources, and Usability from CatholicCulture.org. Their group has been endorsed by the Pontifical Council for the Family. Pope John Paul II said of their ministry, "Courage is doing the work of God!"

They organized EnCourage in 1992 for "friends and relatives of those struggling with homosexualtiy [sic]." ₃That organization consists of 9 chapters. Unlike most conservative Protestant ministries to friends and families of gays and lesbians, they do not "embrace the necessity of a homosexual loved one's changing sexual orientation." Rather, they emphasize the conversion of gays and lesbians from sexually active to celibate.

Gays in the church

A homosexual who confessed to a priest the occasional instance of promiscuity could receive absolution and be allowed to receive communion. However, if she/he had become involved in a permanent, committed, loving partnership with a person of the same sex, then they would be denied both absolution and the sacraments unless the relationship was first terminated.

The church made an official statement barring ordination "to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers." ₇ Unfortunately, it is not clear whether the term "homosexuality" refers to a candidate's orientation or behavior. The wording would seem to imply the latter. Apparently most North American seminaries consider the applicant's ability to live a life of celibacy to be of prime importance. The candidate's actual sexual orientation (homosexual, homosexual or bisexual) is of lesser concern. More details. Estimates of the percentage of Roman Catholic priests in North America who have a homosexual orientation range from about 30% to 50%.

In early 2002, the media started to publish reports of children having been sexually abused by priests; this often happened two to three decades in the past. The initial stories originated in the Boston, MA area. However, reports soon spread nation-wide. Cover-ups by diocesan officials became public knowledge. Although much of the public thought in terms of priests molesting and sexually abusing small children, it appears that 90 to 95% of the mistreatment involved priests with a homosexual orientation who abused post-pubescent boys. The victims were often 16 or 17 years of age. Lost in the barrage of media reports was the fact that the vast majority of priests are totally innocent of child abuse.

Past statements by Church leaders (1975-1997)

1975: The Vatican said that homosexual orientation (feelings) were not wrong, because one's orientation is not a matter of choice; it is something that one is born with. However, they stated that to act upon one's feelings by engaging in a homosexual act is a sin, whether it be in a casual or committed relationship.

1976: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (in the US) stated that "homosexuals...should not suffer prejudice against their basic human rights. They have the right to respect, friendship and justice."

1976: Bishop Francis Mugavero (Brooklyn, NY) spoke on homosexuality, stating:

	Gays and Lesbians are called to a celibate life; to act out their feelings of love towards another person is a sin analogous to a heterosexual person engaging in pre-marital sex or adultery.
	The Church should give homosexuals greater "pastoral understanding and care", because they cannot look forward to an intimate relationship with another person.

1990: Robert Broderick, author of the Catholic Encyclopedia, quoted the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The congregation concluded that homosexual behavior is caused by an individual's rejection of God. "In the pastoral field, these homosexuals must certainly be treated with understanding and sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and their inability to fit into society....no pastoral method can be employed which would give moral justification to these acts on the grounds that they would be consonant with the condition of such people. For, according to the objective moral order, homosexual relations are acts which lack an essential and indispensable finality. In Sacred Scripture they are condemned as a serious depravity and even presented as the consequence of rejecting God." ₆

1992: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect for the CDF sent a letter to the Bishops of the church. ₄ He condemned gay-bashing. But he also appeared to blame anti-gay violence on the victims themselves because they seek equal rights; the perpetrators of the violent behavior are not regarded as responsible for the violence. Item 12 stated: "When civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground and irrational and violent reactions increase." The CDF appeared to modify the church's 1975 position, ₅ saying, in a secret document:

	that both homosexual inclination and acts "must be seen as an objective disorder...the living out of this orientation is [not] a morally acceptable option."
	Homosexual acts are "contrary to the creative wisdom of God".
	Discrimination against homosexuals is justifiable in areas of adoption, foster care, and employment of teachers, athletic coaches, and soldiers. Sexual orientation "does not constitute a quality comparable to race, ethnic background, etc. in respect to non-discrimination."
	Homosexual relationships jeopardize the rights of traditional (heterosexual, married) families. [This opinion is simply stated in the document; the authors apparently consider it to be self-evident; they provide no evidence that gays and lesbians represent a threat.]
	Some discrimination against gays and lesbians is morally permissible and is justified, because of the threat that homosexuals may pose to "genuine families", and to "protect the common good"
	Homosexuals who remain in the closet and celibate do not need human rights protection equal to other groups who are commonly targeted for discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality etc. [This would seem to condemn openly gay and lesbian individuals to continued discrimination by others. It would also condemn homosexuals who attempt to stay in the closet, but are exposed by others.]

This paper by the CDF represents a major departure from traditional Roman Catholic teaching. It appears to require its members to perform a direct evil (discrimination) without having first having established a justification.

On the other hand, also in 1992, the Vatican issued a new Catechism for the church. It states that homosexuality is not a matter of choice. "They [homosexuals] do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial...One must avoid all unjust discrimination against them." The church believes that there are both just and unjust forms of discrimination against gays and lesbians.

1997: On SEP 8, the CDF revised the 1992 Catechism from:

	"They [homosexuals] do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial." to
	"This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial."

They seem to have changed their mind on the cause of sexual orientation at some time between 1992 and 1997.

2000-JAN: A law in Great Britain prevents schools from teaching facts about homosexuality. There are indications that England and Wales are planning to repeal the law. However, some business people and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland are attempting to keep the ban in place.

A recent poll indicates that the citizens of Scotland want the law to remain on the books. Results were 2 to 1 in favor. The Church of Scotland favors repeal of the law.

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Catechism is a collection of teachings intended for the guidance of individual Roman Catholics. It aims "at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy, and the Church's Magisterium. It is intended to serve "as a point of reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries." ₈

In articles 2351, 2357, 2358, and 2359, it discusses the beliefs of the church regarding homosexual orientation and behavior. These articles are listed below, along with interpretations by the author of this essay:

Offenses against chastity:

2351: "Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes."

Interpretation: This article applies to sexual activity which is sought for its own sake and not from a a unitive purpose -- a desire to achieve greater intimacy within a committed relationship -- and a procreative purpose -- a desire to create children. The church regards such activity as an offense against chastity -- a morally disordered behavior. This article is sometimes applied to homosexual behavior because sexual activity between persons of the same sex cannot be procreative. However a literal reading of article 2351 indicates that the article only considers sexual behavior to be disordered when it is separated from both procreative and unitive purposes. Within a loving, committed same-sex relationship or marriage, many people believe that sexual activity has the same unitive force that it does in an opposite-sex relationship. Article 2351 might not apply in such cases. However, others believe that same-sex couples are incapable of truly loving another person. To them, all homosexual sex is lust.

Chastity and homosexuality:

	2357: "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. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,[140] tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."[141] 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." ₉
	Interpretation: Here, the term "homosexuality" appears to refer to same-sex sexual behavior of homosexuals and some bisexuals. The church takes the position that same-sex acts are not grounded in a real emotional and sexual interaction between two persons of different genders and thus are disordered rather than genuine.
	2358: "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. 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." ₉
	Interpretation: The Church recognizes that homosexual orientation is not a choice. The implication is that a homosexual orientation is unchangeable. The church opposes "unjust discrimination" against gays and lesbians. This implies that there are just forms of discrimination against them that are moral and acceptable.
	2359: "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." ₉
	Interpretation: Expressing their love physically to another person in a committed relationship or marriage is an option only available to heterosexuals and those bisexuals who are involved with a person of the opposite sex. The Church expects homosexuals to remain celibate and without a partner for life.

References:

Dignity/USA has a web site at: http://www.dignityusa.org/index.html. Dignity Canada Dignit� is at: http://www.dignitycanada.org
Courage has a English/Spanish web site at http://couragerc.net/
EnCourage has a web site at: http://world.std.com/~courage/encourag.htm
"Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,", written by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1986)
"Some Considerations Concerning the Catholic Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons,", written by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and secretly distributed to US bishops. (1992-JUL-23) It was made public by "New Ways Ministry.
Robert Broderick, Ed., "Catholic Encyclopedia: Revised and updated edition," Nelson, (1987), Page 272. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
"Careful Selection And Training Of Candidates For The States Of Perfection And Sacred Orders: (S. C. Rel., 2 Feb., 1961)." Online at: http://www.rcf.org/
Extraordinary Synod of Bishops 1985, Final Report II B a, 4.
"Article 6: The Sixth Commandment," Catechism of the Catholic Church, at: http://www.christusrex.org/
"The five goals," Courage (2000), at: http://www.couragerc.net/
"Yes, you can be out and a Catholic!," Dignity USA, at: http://www.dignityusa.org/
"Solidarity Sunday," Dignity USA, at: http://www.dignityusa.org

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