subject: Response to Homosexuality [print this page] Response to Homosexuality Response to Homosexuality
An urgent need exists to examine the truth in regard to homosexuality, both morally and psychologically. Recently, Pope John Paul II stated, "We need now more than ever to have the courage to look truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception". As the teacher of truth, the Church affirms in the Catechism that "homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity, are intrinsically disordered, and under no circumstances can be approved".
Biblical prohibitions are bright signposts that point people straight toward fullness and joy. They warn people away from spiritual and emotional detours, mires, quicksand, and cliffs. All sexual sins represent some failure on society's part to stick to God's path. Fornication fails to honor the image of God in the other person, for it sees the other only as a commodity. Adultery violates the shrine of marital fidelity which houses and keeps sacred the sexual expression. Incest is the effort to achieve union with an image too close to oneself. The relationship is not sufficiently "other" to make the transaction valid. Masturbation, while not explicitly cited in Scripture as sin, involves a failure to appreciate fully the use of sex which is surely more than a matter of mere organism. And homosexuality is confusion since; it involves the effort of achieving union with a "mirror" image of oneself. This other is not sufficiently different to permit the union for which mankind was so remarkably formed.
Having said these things, we must remember several points as we reflect on this matter. First, this is a moral universe. We are not free to do whatever we want without any consequences. We break God's commands at our own risk. Some seem to think God is obligated to make us happy at any cost. That is simply not so. God is more concerned about our holiness than our health. God loves us so much that he is willing to go to any extreme to make us the kind of people we should be, people who can go to live eternally with him. Second, we should not fail to see God's grace even in his judgment. Many who are guilty of this sin do not get the HIV virus. Many others have been infected only after repeated instances of disobedience. God has been patient, hoping that the sinner would repent. Even when infected, God's presence is promised to those who desire it and repent.
God can bless the afflicted even amidst the affliction. Moreover, Christ's death paid for the eternal consequences of this sin, so there is forgiveness. Finally, God's judgment on homosexuality is quite in keeping with his judgment on all sin. We may be tempted to single out homosexuality because of distaste for the sin and the enormity of AIDS, but we should not forget that God's judgment rests on all forms of wickedness.
We have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization. We are filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting and violent temptation to homosexual sin. We are conscious of the enormous difference between these individuals who struggle with their weakness and strive to overcome it and others who transform their sin into a reason for pride and try to impose their lifestyle on society as a whole, in flagrant opposition to traditional Christian morality and natural law.
The judges, legislators and government officials who in one way or another take steps that favor homosexuality and same-sex marriage. We do not judge their intentions, interior dispositions, or personal motivations. We reject and condemn any violence. We simply exercise our liberty as children of God (Rom. 8:21) and our constitutional rights to free speech and the honest, unapologetic and unashamed public display of our Catholic faith. We oppose arguments with arguments. To the arguments in favor of homosexuality and same-sex "marriage" we respond with arguments based on right reason, natural law and Divine Revelation. In a polemical statement like this, it is possible that one or another formulation may be perceived as excessive or ironic. Such is not our intention.
