Posted on 07/27/2002 11:04:07 AM PDT by maryz
TORONTO - Catholics should boycott homosexual-union ceremonies because attending them would lend support to unnatural relationships, Bernard Cardinal Law said yesterday.
"For us to give public recognition of that in any way is to confirm a pattern of living that is not ordained by God," Law told about 500 Boston-area pilgrims at a catechism session associated with World Youth Day.
He addressed the topic in response to a question about how Catholics should abide by the church's guidance to love homosexuals while opposing same-sex relationships.
"The general principle is we are called to love and accept every human being," Law said, specifically criticizing those who would verbally or physically attack gay people.
But the bottom line, he said, is that married and single people are called to "live chaste lives." He said that means shunning sex other than that shared by a husband and wife. Anything else, he said, "is not in accord with the teaching of Jesus and the church."
"This is an area that clearly is very, very complex," he said. "But we need to pray through it, we need to think through it, and we need to be very clear."
The sweeping prohibition disappointed and angered critics of Law who said it would prevent gay couples from having Catholic friends and family members at major life events.
Charles Martel of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry said the Catholic Church is promoting a "culture of fear."
"(Church leaders) should be doing everything possible to encourage relationships," he said. "They are so focused on sex that they cannot see beyond that."
Martel, a psychotherapist, said the effect of such remarks, especially on gay young people, could be "very damaging . . . how do they practice their faith when they get that message?" he added.
Chuck Provancher, president of Dignity/Boston, an organization of gay Catholics, called Law's remarks "unfortunate."
"It seems to me the Catholic church should be celebrating the love of two people," Provancher said. "Now the cardinal is saying that somehow that is wrong?"
Law's comments "hit home for me," Provancher said, since he and his partner held a union ceremony last year and many Catholic friends and relatives attended. "I would be very surprised if the cardinal ever attended such a ceremony, because if he had, he would not have been able to make the comment he did."
Law, who upon hearing the sexuality question joked that he should have stopped fielding queries earlier, warned the faithful that taking a stance against homosexual relationships would be unpopular.
"You know that we're counter-cultural on this," he said. "You know this is not what the rich and the powerful are saying - those who are in the news."
Controversial as they were, Law's remarks are in line with church teaching on sexual morality.
The catechism of the Catholic church - a lengthy teaching document that deals with issues of doctrine and conduct - states that gay men and women "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."
But it also states that marriage was ordained by God and sexual relations are "morally legitimate only when a definitive community of life between a man and woman has been established."
Law also found himself enmeshed in another controversial issue when he responded to a question from a young woman about the possibility of female priests by telling her not to waste her time.
He said that he could not envision such a thing because the priest must serve as a representative of Jesus, who is male.
"I know it can't change, I know it won't change, and to be thinking in those terms is to deceive oneself and waste one's energy," he said. The cardinal did, however, argue that women have equal status in the church, and listed the accomplishments of Mary, various other saints and Mother Teresa.
Law scoffed at those who expect reversals on issues such as women's ordination and divorce as soon as there's a new pope.
"It's not going to happen," he said. "Just rest comfortably in the faith."
While several pilgrims walked out of the catechism class, they were only upset that the Mass to follow was going to be open to the media.
Law, who received thunderous applause when he arrived for the catechism class, was also hugged by hundreds of young people as he exited the church after the Mass, many thanking him for making the trek to Toronto.
The cardinal made no mention of the sexual abuse scandal back in Boston, other than to offer what has become a routine prayer for victims during the Mass.
'Surprise, surprise, surprise,' said Gomer to Andy.
Is this another offshoot of Boston College?
Sorry, they don't do swords.
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