April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PERSPECTIVE
The Church is not opposed to gay people
The Church is not opposed to gay people
"To be sure that we do not leave anyone behind, to be sure that all are welcome in their own home, and to be sure that we promote genuine gratitude and reverence for the gift that each one of us is to the Church," said Bishop J. Terry Steib of the Diocese of Memphis in 2004 in announcing why he was beginning a diocesan ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics.
"How deep is our river of faith if we are not actively working to be sure that all are welcome in their own home -- the home given to each of us when we became members of God's family through baptism?" he asked.
In the words of Rev. Thomas Brennan, SJ, a gay and celibate priest: "I need to know that the community of believers that welcomed me as an infant in baptism, that brought me to the table of the Lord at the Eucharist, that reconciled me in confession and that called me to ordained ministry can welcome me as a gay person, as well."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of homosexuality under the title of, "The Vocation to Chastity." After stating 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," the catechism immediately adds that homosexuals "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard must 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."
As with all Christians, the catechism says, "Homosexual persons are called to chastity." To assume that gay people cannot be celibate is an unfounded and demeaning assumption, yet a life of celibacy is challenging for the ordained and professed, let alone for those without the support of a religious community.
Also, we must not hold gay and lesbian people to a higher or stricter moral code than we do heterosexual persons. "Gay" is an adjective, not a noun!
"Every person has a fundamental identity: the creature of God, and by grace, His child and heir to eternal life," said the Vatican's 1986 "Letter on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons," which also states: "It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been the object of violent malice in speech and action. Such treatment deserves condemnation."
Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese was a co-signer of a 1998 Pax Christi "Catholic Pledge to End Violence Against Gay and Lesbian People," which stated: "We pledge to find new ways to bring the peace of Christ to the situation of violence against gay and lesbian people. We call on all Catholics and people of good will to look into their hearts and weed out violent perceptions and behaviors. We ask our bishops and Church leaders to speak boldly when the rights of gay and lesbian people are destroyed and when they are maligned by politicians and other religious leaders. We pray both for the victims and the perpetrators of violence."
With five to 15 percent of the population being homosexual, it affects us all. Assume that, in a typical row in any church, at least one person is gay or lesbian.
The Catholic Church teaches that tradition is a font of God's revelation and acts as a caution to taking Bible passages -- on homosexuality, for example -- out of context and interpreting them in a "fundamentalist" way. Hence the importance of a thorough study of Scripture and, relative to this topic, verses related to homosexuality.
In their 1998 document, "Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers," the U.S. bishops state: "Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes and behaviors."
A 1976 letter from the country's bishops also states: "Homosexual persons, like everyone else, should not suffer from prejudice against their basic human rights. They have a right to respect, friendship and justice. They should have an active role in the Christian community."
In "Always Our Children," the bishops add: "To our homosexual brothers and sisters, we offer a concluding word....Though at times you may feel discouraged, hurt or angry, do not walk away from your families, from the Christian community, from all those who love you. In you God's love is revealed. You are always our children."
(Father Kane is director of the diocesan Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and a retired priest of the Albany Diocese.)[[In-content Ad]]
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