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Hi Catholic Exchange:
I enjoy the Catholic content I find at Catholic Exchange, and while I do respect and support the views and work of Mr. Bennett, I don't feel it's quite appropriate to be featured on Catholic Exchange. This is not because he isn't a Catholic (I have many friends that are Baptists…) it is because of its different focus from what Catholicism offers.
Catholic Catechism articles 2357-2359 offer the church's authentic teaching on people with same-sex attraction. Rather than emphasizing the ability to “come out of homosexuality”, the Catholic Church emphasizes the need for respect and compassion to be given to these individuls and the need for chastity for those with these attractions, while acknowledging that the condition is not chosen.
While it is very true that those with same-sex attraction can be “cured” in some cases, it is more of a Protestant view for this to be proposed as the be-all and end-all. It may also be true that homosexuality is not likely genetic, so that those with SSA are not born with it, but this is not beneficial information for anyone in particular, nor has it been determined as fact. I also feel that equally important to countering the graphic descriptions and forceful propaganda of gay rights groups, is recognizing that those with true same-sex attraction have not chosen their condition, and that they deserve respect as individuals, an area which seems to be
left out of an organization such as Mr. Bennett's.
I would recommend for your site a more Catholic approach, as can be found at the Catholic apostolate Courage, which has chapters around the world. Again, chastity and a pure Christian life is the goal here, as opposed to complete change and married life. While this would be good, it turns out to be a more miraculous event than commonplace in the lives of those with SSA.
I look forward to enjoying the continued Catholic content from Catholic Exchange.
Thank you,
Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for writing. We know this is an issue over which there are very strong feelings and which must be approached with empathy for the trial that the condition of Same Sex Attraction is for those individuals who must bear it.
Mr. Bennett's article was not directed toward those who bear this condition as a trial; it warned about those with a twisted agenda to corrupt youngsters through the school system without parental knowledge. Mr. Bennett happened to be the Christian voice who was on top of this situation, providing the timely warning.
While Damascus road encounters that bring about sudden conversions are not the ordinary way of conversion, there are people who are converted with just such dramatic suddenness. Among them are homosexuals. Should we not tell people that such freedom is possible in Christ, just because He permits some people to continue to struggle with these things? After all, we still hold healing services for physical ailments in spite of the fact that most sick people do not appear to be cured by any supernatural intervention.
Among homosexual people who long to be free of this temptation and continue to struggle, some unknown number may, with proper care and guidance, overcome homosexual tendencies and be oriented properly in their sexuality. Rather than being an instant transformation, this change may require years of skilled attention. This means that there are still some for whom the best of care and intentions does not result in a reorientation of their sexuality. Would not true charity be manifested by their rejoicing in others being freed from this tormenting affliction, even while they continue to struggle?
I ask this because you said: “It may also be true that homosexuality is not likely genetic, so that those with SSA are not born with it, but this is not beneficial information for anyone in particular, nor has it been determined as fact.” Actually it has been determined as fact that it is not genetic, otherwise twins would have a 100 percent sharing of this trait. (If there are any genetic factors, they are not dispositive.) To learn that it is not genetic and that change may be possible can transform a person's entire outlook and motivate him to seek help — beneficial information indeed!
Courage, a group we cannot recommend highly enough, does not set reparative therapy as its goal because it exists for supporting homosexual persons in living chaste lives regardless of whether they choose to seek reparative therapy. Outcomes vary:
Some people are able to overcome their homosexual behavior, a goal they pursue because of their Christian values. They move into chaste lives of service to others and are content. Still others in following the road of chastity, and by various means and efforts, come to experience heterosexual development.
Please note that the outcome of being reoriented sexually is a “development”, a furthering of personal growth along the path to healthy maturity:
Same-sex bonding is a basic growth need for children. If unmet by family members, that lack wounds a child’s confidence to bond outside the family with other boys or other girls. At puberty that lack cries out in the form of sexual desire…[A]s old hurts rise up to be resolved, the chaste heart gradually learns to bond … Only then can true growth occur and with some even opposite-sex attraction can emerge.
The person with SSA has missed out on an important developmental step during childhood:
You may also want to overcome same-sex attractions. This is something you must be sure that you want before pursuing it. It is a very challenging journey. Note that no one should pressure you. It’s got to be fully your choice as you are not morally obliged by the Church to do so. It is a worthwhile pursuit however.
The fact that the Church does not say that this growth and healing is a moral requirement, in no way lessens the desirability of healthy adult maturity. To acknowledge that truth is not disrespectful of homosexual persons. Nor can our love of those who struggle in this area prevent us from warning about the evil designs of “gay activists”.
Mr. Bennett may oversimplify, but he's been there. What he recommends is based upon his experience, and we Catholics praise God for his transformed life. May it please God to grant to many more souls just such a miracle.
Blessings,
Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor, Catholic Exchange
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Dear Catholic Exchange:
Let me start out by saying that I support Catholic Exchange and the important job you do on the internet. However, I must make a comment on this article. This article to me seems to be very harsh towards the gay community. While many in the gay community are guilty of pushing a less than moral agenda….there are those “gay” people out there who do just the opposite. The Church has recognized that homosexuality is not a choice; and has encouraged those who are inclined to such an attraction to celebacy.
“The Church teaches understanding and compassion toward gay and lesbian people. In their 1976 statement, To Live in Christ Jesus, the American bishops wrote, “Some persons find themselves through no fault of their own to have a homosexual orientation. Homosexuals, 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. The Christian community should provide them a special degree of pastoral understanding and care.” In 1990, the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Bishops repeated this teaching in their instruction, Human Sexuality. In 1997, the U.S. Catholic Bishops released a Pastoral Letter entitled Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers, directed to the parents of gay and lesbian Catholics. In this document, the bishops briefly addressed lesbians and gay men, saying, “In you God's love is revealed.” The letter also encouraged families to remain connected when a member revealed his or her homosexuality.”
While I agree that Sen Santorum's comments were taken out of context….we as a Christian community can not tolerate anyone's rights being denied or being treated unfairly… Heterosexual or Homosexual. I think to much time is spent on this issue, when there are so many other issues facing the Christian community.
Thanks for taking the time to read my comments. I look forward everyday to visiting Catholic Exchange.
Peace
Kevin Theriault
Dear Mr. Theriault,
Thank you for writing and for your support of Catholic Exchange.
Your letter makes an important distinction. On the one hand, there are those persons affected with the disorder of Same Sex Attraction (SSA) who accept the teaching of the Church, practice celibacy, and who, by God's grace assisting their struggles, reveal His love — as the bishop's pastoral letter says. On the other had, there are the gay rights activists. You are correct that not all persons suffering from SSA are agitating for “gay rights”, but you are arguing against something that was nowhere said or implied in the article..
It is in the issue of choice that gay rights activists attempt to locate a correlation between their agenda and the struggle for racial equality and civil rights. The Church recognizes that most people with SSA can honestly say that they did not “choose” to have this disorder, anymore than a person “chooses” his race. But there is a crucial difference: one cannot choose to change his race, which is not a result of a disorder, but rather is a positive, unchanging feature of identity. The countless numbers of people with SSA who have changed their “sexual orientation” proves that SSA is not an unchanging feature of a person's identity and hence not equivalent to racial characteristics.
The gravamen of Mrs. O'Leary's article is just that — gay rights activists
are engaged in wholesale lying to argue for the equivalency of “gay rights” and the legitimate black civil rights struggle that went on in this country. Lying about what Sen. Rick Santorum said is just their latest crime. Pointing out those lies does no harm nor disservice to those afflicted with SSA who are not among the gay rights activists, and hence in no way is it “harsh towards the gay community.”
Blessings,
Mary Kochan
Contributing Editor, Catholic Exchange
