Posted on 01/28/2015 10:45:11 AM PST by wagglebee
It is no secret that the Catholic Church is under severe social pressure to promote homosexuality and to depart from the idea that holy marriage between opposite-sex couples should be the only form of marriage promoted. As well, the new “Celibacy Movement” for “Gay Catholics” is being pushed into the limelight, despite its misguided approach to growing in holiness.
LifeSiteNews is proud to present a novel perspective on the debate around same-sex ‘marriage’ authored by a person who experiences same-sex attractions but who joyfully chooses to live chastely, in accordance with Catholic teachings. He is a member of Courage International, and he has asked to remain anonymous. He is known to LifeSiteNews, and his bishop and the office of Courage International have both approved this article for release.
Find the article, "If Two Guys Love Each Other…Why Can’t They Get Married in the Catholic Church?" here.
Be warned, the article is over 8,000 words. In order to remain accessible to those outside of Christianity, it does not rely on the Bible, Tradition, Natural Law, or the Catechism, but approaches the Catholic teaching using logical reasoning.
It is not about being “Gay and Catholic,” nor is it designed to “rally the troops,” or to offer misdirected love and sympathy to “gay people” by promoting passive acceptance with no challenge toward growing in holiness.
Spurred by what transpired at the 2014 Synod on the Family, and the media responses toward it, the author and other faithful Catholics like him who experience same-sex attractions feel it is time for them to come to the aid of the Catholic Church on this matter. “I can no longer sit on the sidelines hoping someone else will step up,” he said.
The article is thought provoking. For instance, in addressing the taboo subject of abstinence, it says, “We celebrate athletes who choose to abstain from eating junk food so that they can better maintain their nutrition, and who also choose to abstain from free time so that they can train rigorously,” yet at the same time we imply “that to choose to abstain from sexual activity is ‘ridiculous’ and or ‘unnatural.’”
The author explains the pain on the hearts of some persons who experience same-sex attractions, noting that “many people are firmly convinced that due to the attractions and or inclinations that they do not specifically choose to experience, they are rejected by the Church, and are therefore victims.” This mindset, he says, “causes some people to pursue retribution and or vengeance against the Church.”
The motivation, he says, behind homosexual actions is self-concept, which is influenced by the identities that people choose to embrace. Thus, he suggests, self-identifying as ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ and importantly also as ‘straight’ or ‘heterosexual’ can move people farther away from seeing themselves first and foremost as beloved as children of God.
A key distinction must be made, he says, “between one’s non-specifically chosen attractions and or inclinations and one’s specifically chosen way of self-identifying and defining themselves.”
He demonstrates the falsehood of the notion that “existence of a particular attraction necessitates the embracing of a particular identity in order for a person to be honest with themselves.”
He also stresses the need to “get out of the political-activism arena (not out of the political arena) and start praying and fasting that people will be open to elevating the marriage conversation to be about the beauty found in a holy and virtuous marriage.”
I highly encourage study and reflection on the author’s important thesis.
Well, I am Catholic and I believe that God does indeed intentionally create each individual. I also believe that He creates all of us in His image.
You are free to believe what you choose.
Well, I disagree with that starting proposition.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
So by all means, open up the Bible to those outside -- otherwise they will remain outside and end up going to the 'other place'.
I don’t like the evolving that is happening in religion. Heterosexuality is normal and homosexuality is an aberration. God created Adam and Eve - male and female - and the design is for them to bond through marriage, procreate and provide a safe “nest” for children to be raised in.
There is no such natural path for male-male or female-female relationships, therefore they are aberrant...and redundant. If God had created only Adam and Steve or Amanda and Eve, the human race would have ended in the Garden of Eden within one human lifespan.
God’s intention is pretty clear and is reinforced by scripture and the Church has a responsibility to keep marriage between a man and a woman if it is to remain true to the Bible and to God.
Catholic ping!
Absolutely it is. It is, I think, implied in the notion of God. That thought is clearly expressed in the Creed ("the Lord, the giver of life").
In the scripture we sometime see an expression "children of God" with the implication of eventual sainthood (Galatians 3:26, for example), so not everyone is a child of God in that sense, since not everyone will be saved. But you yourself indicated that you speak of literal sonship by way of creation.
The Catholic Church does not teach that some people are predestined for damnation. Rather, when people reach age of reason (typically, 7-10 years of age), they exercise free will that may lead them to salvation through the Cross or indeed damnation. God foreknows that but He allows the free choice to be made by the souls He creates.
Very good explanation. ;-)
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