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If there was any doubt that California Bishop Jaime Soto would reaffirm the Catholic Church's constant teaching on homosexuality during his address to National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries - it was quickly dispelled.

In a compassionate and reasoned presentation of the Church's teaching, Bishop Soto reminded us that Bishops are truly the successors to the apostles. During the course of his speech Bishop Soto said:

"Sexual intercourse, outside of the marriage covenant between a man and a woman, can be alluring and intoxicating but it will not lead to that liberating journey of true self-discovery and an authentic discovery of God. For that reason, it is sinful. Sexual relations between people of the same sex can be alluring for homosexuals but it deviates from the true meaning of the act and distracts them from the true nature of love to which God has called us all. For this reason, it is sinful."

Please click here to view the full text of the speech.

Labels: Catholic Church

The following is a series of emails in response to an article by a gay columnist about the implications of the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuals.

Dear Mr. Columnist:

I came across your article on the recent visit to America by Pope Benedict
the XVI. As a Catholic, I read the article with interest and appreciate your
coverage of the Holy Father's visit. You are clearly an intelligent,
well-informed person, however, I must point out a serious misstep in your
reasoning, which may be a real source of confusion to your readers. I'm
referring to the following paragraph from your article:

"But gracious gestures do not erase Benedict's
infamous pastoral letter of October 1986, when, as prefect of the
Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he called
homosexuality "an intrinsic moral evil" and all but justified anti-gay
violence."

You are quite right that the Church's teaches that homosexual acts are
intrinsically evil; yet while Catholics are obliged to object to immoral
behavior, they are expected to love persons. The proper orientation of
Catholics toward gay persons is outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic
Church:

"This inclination (homosexuality), which is objectively disordered,
constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with
respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust
discrimination in their regard should be avoided."

There is no mention of violence in the this statement. Your assertion that
objecting to a given behavior is, in effect, a call for violence against a
person committing that behavior is poor reasoning. When people rightly
object to identity theft, for example, is does not follow that they want to
murder, beat or torture those who commit identity theft.

You wish to continue in the homosexual lifestyle and you object to the
Church's teaching - fair enough - but you should be aware that Catholic
moral teaching never advocates violence, and you should be more clear about
that as a person who is in a position to influence others.

I thank you for your time and hope that all is well with you, your family
and your loved ones.

Sincerely,
Mr. Lucey



Mr. Lucey,

I appreciate your note, but before disputing my characterization of
Ratzinger's October 1, 1986 pastoral letter, you should have looked it up.

Specifically, see the second paragraph under #10. I did not invent nor
interpolate. Ratzinger all but justified anti-gay violence.

By the way, I don't have a "lifestyle" while you have a life. My life and
love are as fully dimensional and legitimate as anyone else's.



Dear Mr. Columnist,

Thank you for you gracious response; I'm heartened to learn that you are familiar with the Vatican document that articulates the Church's teaching on same sex attraction. Certainly I've read this document, but I had to check up on the passage you were referring to.

Since the first paragraph clearly does not justify violence against homosexuals, then I'll assume you're referring to the second:

"But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual
persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered.
When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned,
or 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."

Forgive me if this isn't the part of text you're referring to, but in the above paragraph I don't see even an implicit justification for violence against homosexuals. I understand his meaning to be this: sadly, there will always be evil, violent people who will commit crimes against homosexuals. This tragic fact, however, can't be a justification for saying that homosexuality is moral, healthy or acceptable. To recognize homosexuality as a moral good, will only encourage those tempted by same sex attraction to give into their impulses, which will make the behavior more visible and therefore bring on more attacks from violent disturbed people.

This is my poor rendering of Pope Benedict's statement; I hope as a writer you'll excuse my clumsy prose. I believe one of the major fallacies that gay activists operate under is that a charitable, reasoned critique of homosexuality makes people commit crimes against homosexuals. It does not. It's when the one sane, measured and charitable voice in this debate (the Catholic Church) is shut out of the room, that you are left with fundamentalists and people who are looking to commit violence against anybody, be that gay, white, Mexican or (fill in the blank).

I apologize for my extended response, but I appreciate the chance to speak directly with someone who, through the vehicle a city paper, clearly has an influence on the gay community in your city. I have a great respect for writers and believe that still have a tremendous effect on public debate.

One quick aside - I don't wish you to misunderstand my use of the word "lifestyle." I don't mean it in the superficial sense, to suggest that your sexual behavior is on par with fishing or scrap booking. Surely you know that there are men who have sex with other men, but who absolutely refuse to identify themselves as gay in any way. The don't participate in pride marches nor associate themselves with other gay social/community events. So it seems fair to reason that simply having sex with other man does not make one "gay," but engaging in a whole range of specific social activities (hence "lifestyle"), as well as taking on a certain set of political ideas, contributes more to making the self-identification as "gay."

Peace to you and best of luck with the rest of your summer.

Sincerely,
Mr. Lucey

Labels: Catholic Church

This past week a collection of dissident Catholic groups took out an ad in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera seeking once more to have the Holy Father and the Church rescind its teaching that contraception of any form is intrinsically evil and to be avoided by Catholics.

In 1968 Pope Paul VI’s encyclical letter Humanae Vitae definitely codified what the Church had taught for two millennia: that sexual relations in a marriage must be both unitive (husband and wife giving themselves completely to each other) and procreative (being open to possibility of children). In the 40 years since 1968, the Mystical Body of Christ has been involved in a theological civil war over the issue with casualties throughout the Church and the world.

Many of the so-called “Catholic groups” who signed onto the ad, beat the familiar drum of same sex marriage, women’s ordination, support of abortion and the promotion of birth control. It’s worth noting that Catholics, who knowingly dissent from the Church on these issues, threaten to separate themselves from communion with Rome.

At the heart of this dissent seems to be a peculiar ignorance among Catholics about whom the Pope is and how he shepherds the faithful. In the Book of Matthew we learn that Jesus singled out St. Peter for a special mission in his new Church: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall no prevent against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew, 16:18).”

We clearly see that Jesus established a Church with St. Peter at the helm; we also learn that he has the authority to forgive men for their sins here on earth. Before he was crucified in Rome, we know that St. Peter’s office was the Bishop of Rome; although Joseph Ratzinger is called Pope Benedict XVI or the Holy Father, the name of his office remains the Bishop of Rome. And for 2,000 years it has been the Bishop of Rome who has settled disputes and ruled on controversies in the universal Church. We see in the current implosion of the Anglican Communion, how vital it is for Christians to have an authority to settle difficult issues.

And once we recognize who the Pope is, we must appreciate what his function is. Regarding questions of faith (scripture) and morals, the Pope is guided by the Holy Spirit and is infallible (cannot pronounce error in the narrow filed of faith and morals). Infallibility should not be confused with impeccability, which means free from sin. The Pope is a man, and therefore a sinner like all men, yet when teachings on issues of faith and morals, Catholics can take it to the bank that this is the will of Jesus Christ for His people. One of the great joys of being Catholic is know that when you faithfully live out the Chruch’s teaching, you are pleasing our Lord – to trust the Holy Father is to trust our Lord who is the head of the Church.

For non-Catholics who might be puzzled by this row about birth control, it’s worth reading Pope Paul VI’s encyclical and learning just how prophetic he was in asserting that acceptance of birth control would lead to abortion, divorce, promiscuity, decline of the family and the degradation of women.

We see in Africa today that one of the only countries that has made progress in reducing HIV/AIDS is Uganda, which has focused on abstinence, marital fidelity and traditional Christian morality. Elsewhere in Africa, secular westerners swoop in and shower the population with condoms – making no attempt to address the issue of sexual promiscuity. A recent article in the Washington Post by a Ugandan minister exposes the pressure African nations receive from U.N.-type agencies to not “restrict people’s sexual freedom.”

This year New York City began a marketing campaign to raise awareness about condom use; the campaign included free condoms and flashy ads encouraging sexual license. Not long after, a study appeared documenting that STDs in the city were at an all-time high. Little wonder that secular, progressive types have little to offer Africa in the way of health advice.

Catholics are blessed to have Jesus’ representative among them guiding them back to the father in heaven – it’s time the members of the Mystical Body of Christ began acting accordingly.

Labels: Catholic Church