I support gay rights because I am Catholic, not in spite of it.
I grew up Catholic. Catholicism was early morning and late night masses, hot cross buns on Good Friday, wearing a pretty white dress for my first Communion, confused friends who wanted to know if I worshipped Mary. It was glowing candles on the dinner table during December, and palms folded into crosses in April. It was simple, and it was good. I believed it then, and I believed it now.
But it is not as simple now as it was then. Now I realize being Catholic isn’t defined by whether or not you attend Fish Fridays, but is a complex world of the orthodox and the not-so-orthodox. I am not an orthodox Catholic (used in the sense of one who follows every belief to the letter, not in the sense of the church that became identified as such during the Great Schism). And there is a reason that we have that term “orthodox” or “traditional” (the term my husband’s uncle, a religious, used instead of our term which I believe was “crazy conservatives” at brunch last week). Because despite Catholicism’s call for us to adhere to one set of beliefs, we do recognize, at least popularly, that there is a myriad of beliefs, experiences, and practices that create Catholicism. All this to say, my beliefs here do not reflect the beliefs of the Catholic Church, which opposes the legalization of gay marriage.
But I believe in it, and other gay rights, because I’m Catholic, not in spite of it.
You see, if the Church had wanted to turn me off of supporting the marginalized in our society, it should not have read the Sermon on the Mount to me each year. It should have silenced Jesus’ cry of blessings on the poor in spirit, the persecuted, the meek, the peacemakers, and those who thirst for righteousness.
The Church should not have taught me of the love God has for all of his people. It should have taught me instead that Jesus only came for those who were rich, who were white, who were straight, who were male, who were powerful, who were orthodox.
If the Church wanted me to oppose gay marriage, it should not have taught me that scripture is historical and contextual. It should have taught me instead that it is always literal, but it did not. It should not have taught me that God is love. It should not have taught me about the dignity of the human person, that everyone deserves a place to live, a place to work, a place to eat without being discriminated against.
It should not have taught me about the beauty of marriage. How the love between two people mirrors the love of God and his people. It should not have instilled me with the morals of faithfulness, commitment, and love if it had wanted me to discourage those practices in others.
The Church taught me instead about personal conscience (Catechism) and that “A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself” (1790). It taught me that the conscience is inscribed on our hearts by God.
The Catholic Church taught me not to judge. And not in some trite “love the sinner but hate the sin” (but secretly hate the sinner too because that’s just easier) way, but in a deep, true way. It taught me to look inwardly to my own faults, not outwardly to the faults of others.
It taught me to fight for the rights of the least among us. It reminded me that those whom society deemed okay to hate, we were required to love.
Of course, some will say that I am a shining example of the fallen American laity. They will remind me that the Church does not conform to the whims of modern society, and instead follows the teachings of Christ.
To which, I would respond that I agree. The Church is bigger than simple societal whims of oppression, of hate, of bigotry, of fear. I would say that the Catholic Church, at its core, preaches love and acceptance, hope and grace. If it wants me to adhere to another belief set, one of prejudice and marginalization, it should have taught me something else.
I support gay rights because I am Catholic. Not because I do not understand the teachings of the church, or because I simply choose not to follow them out of convenience sake, but because I do believe them, because I do follow them. And it’s not just me. A study in 2011 showed that Catholics are more in favor of same sex marriage than any other religious group, and more than Americans as a whole.
If the Catholic Church wanted me to oppose gay rights, it shouldn’t have told me what Christ taught.
Thank you. You don’t know how much I needed this today.
You rock. I’m adding this to my Resource Guide.
You mean today as in the day the Vatican came out against the LWCR? Yeah, I had some choice words for them…and they weren’t “traditional.”
No, I didn’t see that… lovely.
You post came after I had an argument in the comments of the resource guide with someone who told me to stop “deceiving” people into thinking God is OK with gay people, because lying to them is an unloving thing to do. It was… frustrating, to say the least.
Thank you very much for this post — – I stand with you word for word —
Thank you. I reposted to FB because this so completely sums up my thoughts, feelings, and prayers from the last year or so.
Kristen Blount
University of Scranton, class of 92
(those Jesuits do a number on us, don’t they?!)
Thank you! One of my JV housemates went to University of Scranton. I think she would’ve graduated around the same time as you.
Jackie,
As you know I am not Catholic but I have been studying the Catholic Church for nearly three years now. For others that may read this, to give you some context, I was raised in a evangelical protestant church and continue to call that tradition home. That being said most of my friends and even some family members have made reference to me, in a half-joking-nervous-laughter-type-of-way as being Catholic. I continue to struggle with some of the things that seem to be missing from my particular tradition. I am specifically drawn to the authority of the Catholic church and the sacraments that are affirmed in her. The authority that seems to calmly and steadily sit below an ocean of subjective mush and the tangible gift of God’s grace.
I have several questions about some of the things that you’ve written in this post. It should be said at the beginning of what will seem like a rebuttal that I am not interested in a debate. I am not interested in sides or winning or getting over on someone with a clever comment. I am interested in truth. I admire Socrates and his pestering questions and if you will humor me I have some questions of my own. I seek clarification and not to prove a point. In that spirit here are my questions:
1. The charism of infallibility is fully engaged only in definitive Magisterial teachings on faith and morals. Topics like contraception, abortion, divorce, and homosexuality are all addressed by definitive Church teachings. As such, Catholics are required to give the “assent of faith” to such teachings. As these definitive Magisterial teachings are infallible they can never be changed. To do so would mean that the Holy Spirit was in error regarding the direction of these definitive moral teachings. To express dissent towards the infallible teachings of the church means that rather than assenting in faith you are expressing that:
1. The Church is in error.
2. The Holy Spirit is in error.
3. Your view is the correct view.
My question has two parts. What have I misunderstood about the explicit and infallible teaching of the CCC that says the following (and its call to the “assent of faith” towards said teachings):
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”142 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.
Rather than post the other questions I will wait for a response to this one.
I would like to add that I believe the CCC beautifully and compassionately communicates what the Christian attitude towards homosexuality and homosexuals should be. It follows the passage I listed above:
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, 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. 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.
So you probably know more about this than I do. But the Catechism is not considered to be completely infallible and not everything the Church says/does/teaches is considered to be infallible either. Somethings are considered infallible (like the Nicene Creed), but now something is only infallible if the Pope speaks ex Cathedra (out of the chair of Peter). Catholics are required to believe the Catholic Church’s doctrines and dogmas, and the Catechism falls under doctrine. However there are different levels of doctrines, and you aren’t required to believe them all. These are better explanations: http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/113303-doctrinedogma-infallibility/ and here http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/aug2004/Wiseman.asp. The Catechism is an overview of the current teachings of the Church. And contrary to what the Church likes to say, it does change its teachings on non-dogmatic issues over time. The best example would probably be that prior to Vatican II, the Catholic Church taught that non-Catholics would go to hell (sorry!) but now it does not (yay!). So the Church *could* reverse its teaching on homosexuality without everything shattering. The Church professes to be unchangeable in the more central issues of faith, and not in issues of practice.
I do agree that the Catholic teaching on homosexuality and mainly attitudes towards it is worlds better than other churches, however, I think people tend to forget the “unjust discrimination should be avoided” part. It’s still legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in this country, something the Church *should* be against but isn’t. The basis for these kinds of attitudes, and especially the attitude against gay marriage, is the encyclical On the Pastoral Care of Homosexuals which is not dogma or doctrine. If you research the Church’s position on sex in general, you see it has evolved over time (they used to think that Jesus was born to a virgin because all sex was sin, and original sin was transmitted through sex, so he couldn’t be conceived through sex because that would be a sin) and so its not unreasonable to think it will evolve here too. If it stops digging its heels in.
I don’t think that the Church as in “the body of Christ” is in error, or that the Holy Spirit is in error, but I think the men who are leading it are in error here.
Does that explain anything?
Sigh. I think all the hub-bub and hate and confusion is about the struggle of loving life exactly the way it is. Acceptance….and the struggle to know the heart consciousness that serves life…and joins in its beauty. We need grace and ease in accepting all of life as best we can. Peace happens and hearts expand in receiving and accepting by focusing on the love in our lives. Starting with receiving the gifts of each other and So Be It and so it Shall Be!
Confusion is a good word for it. And I hope we can all have grace for each other, on either side.
Thank you for this well written post! I especially like and agree with your reply to the comment above and the line that says: “I don’t think that the Church as in “the body of Christ” is in error, or that the Holy Spirit is in error, but I think the men who are leading it are in error here.”
You put in to words EXACTLY what I FEEL and BELIEVE!!! THANK YOU so much!
Beautiful post. I too am a cradle catholic and I am the mother of a gay son. I believe all our children are created in His image, and we are to love all God’s children. I really believe that Jesus taught us to LOVE…. I think our church will evolve on this issue, but it will come too slowly for most. There are too many passages in the bible about the Hierarchy at the time throwing stones in the path..not reaching out, being insulated from the lived experience of the people…. we need to learn from this. I also believe that the Spirit continues to inform us.
Deb
thiscatholicmom.blogspot.com
Deb, I would love to hear more about your journey, the difficulties and successes you’ve experienced and also if you know of a support group for Catholic parents of gay children. Thank you for your post.
MsMom… I am a board member of Fortunate Families
fortunatefamilies.org
We are a group of Catholic parent who work for inclusion for our kids in the church and society.
One of the ways I have been involved in outreach is to lgbt youth who have been kicked out… discarded. My husband and I have volunteered our home for the last 3 years to a dozen kids (one at a time..) and helped kids get back on track. I too blog and you can find some of our stories at thiscatholicmom.blogspot.com.
Our church fathers don’t realize the pain they cause when they make our children ‘the other’. I really believe that was the message Jesus came to give us… There is no ‘other’ we are all brothers and sisters.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Have you ever listened to Dan Savage’s bit on This American Life? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDo5PT_ToI Admittedly, it’s on why he won’t return to the Catholic Church, but I still find it beautiful and as a mother I think you could relate to his easily. Just grab a tissue first.
This is completely and utterly gorgeous writing. I’m adding your blog to my GoogleReader subscription!! Thank you for your beautiful statement of beliefs.
This is utterly and completely gorgeous. I’m subscribing to your blog, and I look forward to reading more. Thank you for your beautiful explanation of beliefs!
Thank you!
as “right” as what you have written may sound, your understanding of biblical truth is wrong…yes, we are to love ALL people, regardless of their sin, but if we believe the bible is the inerrant word of God, we cannot love their sin or condone it. Jesus loved the marginalized, disenfranchised and the unlovely, but not for one minute did HE love their sin – if He had, there would have been no need for the Cross! All “oppressions” are the schemes and distractions of the enemy (satan), which keep us from the needful thing – knowing, loving and bringing honor to the Worthy One – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Oh, man! Guess I gotta stop praying out loud in church because because women are prohibited from speaking in church. Got to buy a hat to wear when I pray too. Better tell anyone I know that is divorced and re-married that they are sinning. Not to mention remind everyone that slaves should go back to their masters.
And you can’t even use the whole “Jesus got rid of the old law” argument here – those are all New Testament teachings.
you have to always take scripture in context…you can only do that by studying the whole of the Bible, not just the parts that appear to support your position, or that provide fodder for your position. scripture is spiritually discerned is as foolishness to those who are perishing…you can only have understanding as you are infilled with the Holy Spirit, and you don’t get that, until you bend the knee in repentance for your sin and invite Jesus to be not only Savior, but also Lord of your life…which first requires to believe…God’s ways are not our ways, but they are always the right way.
I completely agree. You have to take scripture into context. And not just certain parts. Even the parts that deal with homosexuality.
This was beautiful, and reflects some of my own thoughts in regards to Mormonism and gay rights issues as well. It is only now that I have stopped being “orthodox” that I feel like I am moving closer to Christ and better understanding what He was really about.
you are not really moving closer to Christ when you reject His Word, the bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things…our fallen flesh loves sin and it’s own way and it will make you believe whatever you want to believe, especially if it is wrong…that’s why it’s called fallen nature.
Diana, please use capital letters at the beginning of your sentences. Also, don’t tell someone they’re moving away from Christ when they reject His Word. If Jenna feels moving from being a more orthodox Mormon is helping her move closer to God, that’s her right. It’s how she feels and it’s awesome that she has a feeling she is moving closer to Christ and feels she is gaining a better understanding of what He was really about. That’s awesome because she (Jenna) is strengthening her relationship with Christ. Stop trying to twist what people are posting and tell them YOU think they’re wrong based on YOUR interpretation of the Bible. I’m sure if you looked through the Bible long enough you could find passages and interpret them in such ways that you could say Jesus would condemn me because I’m short and overweight. But you know what, I know that’s wrong. Jesus love me… just the way I am. Just like my Jewish podiatrist told me when I said I didn’t like my very muscular calves “God made you that way and HE made you perfectly!” God made all people and HE made them perfectly- Gay, Straight, Black, White, Asian, Jew, Greek, Slave, Free…. We’re one in the love of the Lord- One in the body of Christ.
Peace and Blessings,
A Catholic who also supports Gay Rights
(P.S. Jenna, I hope I accurately conveyed the words you wrote in your post. )
I met a really lovely doctor last year who believes that she, too, is loving the marginalized, helping poor women by performing abortions for them. I thought at the time that made no sense, but by your logic, maybe it does. Its about people following their conscience, even unformed, even if it means rediefining basic words like “life” in her case, or “sex” for homosexuals.
I don’t think you can really re-define “sex”. It’s intercourse, the penetration of a bodily orifice. But I’m pro-life, for what it’s worth. However, I don’t think it’s fair to assume someone’s conscience is unformed just because it is a different opinion.
it’s not that their conscience is unformed, it is that they choose sin instead of God’s way…look at Romans 1 and see what scripture says about this particular issue.
This is beautiful. Truly. You’ve said everything perfectly. Definitely sharing this
I love the way you wrote this. Reading all the way through it, I kept nodding because I recognized my own relationship with God in every line. Beautiful.
Thank you for your beautiful post. I am struggling with my faith have been Catholic all my life and wondering if I can still be a practicing catholic and believe in gay rights and same sex marriage. I was at church today listening to a homoly where my preist talked about the evils of homosexuality and the immorality. What made me feel even worse was the applause that the homoly received from my fellow parisheners. I felt like I had to make a choice between my faith and my beliefs. Just struggling on what to do next.
I am struggling with choosing Catholicism as a Faith and with this one position. I believe that we cannot deny homosexuals rights based on sexual orientation, but must approach the issue with love. So many say, “Hate the sin; Love the sinner,” but I too agree that to let the hate seep into the “deceitful” heart is far easier than to truly love in the face of the homosexuality debate.
I am on my way to becoming Catholic and have been married to a Catholic for over 15 years. With the birth of our two youngest children (a second generation) and their baptisms, I have been called to take this step. I find the clearly visible and overwhelming hate for and fear of homosexuals to be a blinding and confusing image to overcome. I find that this issue is conspicuous in nearly every organized religion today. Unfortunately, its consequence is to drive people away from The Church and Jesus as it appears no different that the hate of the unbelievers.
Thank you for your article, and I am grateful to the compassionate Catholic woman who pointed me in your direction.
Michelle,
Best of luck on your journey to conversion. I went through RCIA 13 years ago. I promise you’ll encounter many Catholics on your journey who also share your beliefs on the issue of gay rights. The journey will reveal so many things to you about yourself. Enjoy every moment along the way.
All the best,
Diva
You most certainly do not understand the teachings. You understand some of them. You have the love part down. But you seem to lack knowledge and understanding of the deeper underlying theology of marriage and what it is.
“If the Catholic Church wanted me to oppose gay rights, it shouldn’t have told me what Christ taught.” Christ did not teach sodomy.
And finally, you are equating loving and supporting the poor and marginalized of our society with gay marriage. Not the same in the least. They are not the poor and the meek. It is silly to put this issue on that level.
Can you love the sinner without supporting their decision to sin? Absolutely. We are as Catholics called to envelope those with the cross of homosexuality in the center of our faith communities because they need more support than most in order to remain true to Christ’s teachings on marriage and sexuality. Homosexuals need all our love and support in order to maintain the chastity that they are called to practice if they are unable to marry a person of the opposite sex as God intended. The require lots of love and support – to live the faith- NOT to marry against God’s plan for humanity.
It is possible to understand something and disagree with it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I feel exactly the same way! One size does NOT fit all !!!
I have recently started a blog and one of the topics I am researching to write on (one of many) is this Fortnight for Liberty Show (which is exactly what it is IMO… A Show!!!)
Thank you for sharing. I will be subscribing!
I am a cradle Catholic mom with a transgendered gay son. No one can tell me he chose his orientation because, for one thing, he came with both sets of body parts. He and his beautiful gay, lesbian, transgendered and questioning friends have taken care of me throughout a deadly illness for the last five years while most of my heterosexual “Christian” family abandoned me. These are not evil people and they have more love in them than anyone I have ever met in my Catholic church. And, yes, they love each other, some of them are in love with each other. It’s really hard for me to believe they are sinning when, if I use the teaching of Jesus that ‘by their fruits ye shall know them’ they are the kindest, most loving, most Christian people I have ever met. Much more Christian than those self-called “Christians” who want to literally kill them, ‘purge’ them, imprison them behind electric fences (as one pastor was proud to say) and deny them not only of Civil rights but of Human Rights! I’m deeply saddened that our Church has the thoughts it does. I cry daily fearing I’m going to hell but, I just cannot bend my thoughts, “submit my will and intellect” to this teaching. I know the teachings and the so-called reasons behind them so my conscience is not uninformed. The teachings just don’t make any sense at all when I hold them up to the light of my own experience which I also believe was given me by God for His own good reasons. Where were the good and holy Catholics when I was suffering torture from my illness, when I was outcast from my family and shunned? They were nowhere to be found while the LGBTQ kids saved my life! Please keep me in your prayers while I suffer daily seeking peace for my soul.
First off, I would like to appluad Jeremy Pegg- for not being a Catholic you made some really solid points! Way to go!
Second, I would like to be authentic and say that this saddens me. Have you ever heard the quote, “People don’t hate the Catholic Church, they hate what they THINK the Catholic Church is”? Not sure who said it honestly but I think it’s a good one. I agree with most of the commenters who are bring up the hate the sin love the sinner line that my dad used to give me in high school. You’re right that many Catholics don’t do this well, none of us can love perfectly- that’s Christ’s job. Many homosexuals feel unloved by Christ because of how they’ve been treated by Christians and if we are the body of Christ we must seek out the marginalized of society with love and truth. To do so is not merely mercy but is infact JUSTICE! For freely we have been given perfect love and truth by Christ and when we share it we lose nothing and gain everything! I agree whole-heartedly that we ought to hate the sin and love the sinner and it’s sad to me when so many people leave the Church because they encounter someone who fails to do this perfectly, because we ALL fail to do it perfectly- WE ARE NOT PERFECT! Instead of giving up hope in God’s Church, BE the hope in God’s Church! Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world” so I like to tell my fellow young Christian friends, “be the CHURCH you want to see in the world”!
It’s clear to me that there are people on both sides of this argument that are trying to do just that, to love the sinner and to be the hope of the Church, yet I stand by my Mom (The Church) as She stands with Her Bridegroom Christ against gay marriage. But if both sides are aiming for the same goal of love then why can truth only stand on one side? Because the word sin means “to miss the mark” and that’s what homosexuals and in fact all of us sinners are always missing. What are we all aiming for? LOVE! God is love and we are created out of love, by love, and for love! Isn’t that such good news?! We’re all aiming for love because we are good and made in the image of our heavenly Father so (not to make sin seem less than serious but only to not forward our tendancy to judge) sin is just missing the mark! We’ve got our Momma Church and Daddy God to show us how to aim closer though and what they say about the marriage issue is true but we don’t always get it which is why sometimes we need to trust that they’re right and then pray that we’ll be able to understand why. Most of the time as sinners it’s like we’re starving for food and we’re eating out of the dumpster because we’re scared to follow Christ to the banquet table or we just don’t believe Him that there’s something better. Our parents are good ones though and so they would never sit by indifferently and let us eat trash instead of good food! They love us enough to tell us the truth that homosexual acts miss the mark of God’s love and they are like the dumpster not the banquet. If you followed along this far and you’re still reading say a little prayer that God will show you the banquet of truth wherever it lies and not just in any specific issue but in all the sin in your life. If we all pray this we’ll all come closer so I’ll stop and pray it too because Lord knows I miss the mark a lot.
So now, here’s the banquet mom and dad led me to when I started wondering where I should stand on homosexual acts: Let me tell you a story…When I was in high school (just a few years ago- I’m one of very few young people who stand with the Church on this issue) I played volleyball and I found myself surrounded by tall, pretty, blonde, middle class Christian girls who were textbook for “normal” and “popular”. It wasn’t until I stopped playing volleyball and followed my true talent for singing that I was moved out of my comfort zone into a group of choir misfits. When I made it into our show choir I was uneasy about having to go on over night trips with a girl named Sarah (name changed) who was lesbian. I didn’t know how to befriend this girl thinking we probably had nothing in common. One night we were all out to eat as a choir and I engaged in some religious conversation with some friends who were methodist and lutheran and it was all very civil but nothing could have prepared me for what happen when Sarah chimed in unexpectedly with her ten cents which she gave with a very cold and harsh tone…she turned to me at the sound of the word Catholic and snapped, “OH YEAH?! Well my family is Catholic and they tell me I’m going to hell!” I didn’t know what to respond. I could tell nothing I could say in the heat of that moment would be fitting or helpful (for the record, the Church does not say who goes to hell and who doesn’t because She knows that’s up to Christ). After dinner we were all walking out to our cars and Sarah caught be by surprise again when she ran up to me and pulled me aside with tears welling up in her eyes. She very humbly and timidly said to me, “Ginny, you are the best Christian I know, and you’re a Catholic, do YOU think that I could go to heaven?” In that moment I realized I had a lot more in common with Sarah than I initially thought because what her face was saying and what her question was really asking is – does someone love me enough to want heaven for me? And she by wanting heaven was clearly aiming for Love. I looked into those hungry eyes that were starved for real food and told her that I believed she would make it to heaven. I told I loved her. I gave her hope. She crumpled in my arms and I held her as she cried for as long as it took. From that day on my prayers for Sarah changed, I no longer prayed for her to just stop being lesbian but I prayed a simple yet more profound prayer that required me to see Sarah as my sister in Christ who, just like me was only aiming for love and had missed it. From that day on I prayed that Sarah would come to know true love, because if she came to know this she would come to know Him who is love and He would reveal to her the truth about love and how He intentended it. After that moment, Sarah never dated another girl. She went on to date a couple men the most recent of which was a devout Christian. Last summer she was baptized and now she is engaged to that man. I had prayed for God to show me the truth of love too so that I could stand firmly in line with the Church’s teaching with faith…He gave me Sarah.
If she is going to marry a man, and she is attracted to him, then she wasn’t a lesbian. Maybe she was bisexual. Or maybe she was never a lesbian to begin with. Or maybe she is still a lesbian and will be sexually unfulfilled in her marriage and be a miserable, suffering person for the rest of her life. Just because you have one gay friend does not make you an authority on sexuality…that’s like people who say “I have a black friend!”
http://www.theologyofthebody.net/
Your homage to the choice of homosexuality makes me sad. Your entire article is one long justification of choice to sin, and continued desire to sin. Jesus Christ indeed teaches love and respect for others, especially the downtrodden or persecuted, however, as He aided the woman at the well he did not condemn her, but He did admonish her to go and sin no more. That is the heart of penitence, turning from the sin once it has been confessed.
Like so many who, in believing the lie that is justification, we do not have the option to pick and choose which parts of the Bible we want. The Bible is an all or nothing choice, you cannot arbitrarily change or reinterpret the Word of Christ and continue to call yourself a Christian. Note I am using the term Christian, instead of Catholicism or any other denomination.
The immoral acid that is eroding the beliefs upon which our country was founded is nothing more complicated than making a conscious decision to sin, and show no repentance for doing so.
I am all for using the tried and true method of achieving change in our society for the betterment and equality of the majority, have our duly elected representatives at the local, state and federal level introduce a bill proposing said changes, a fair debate on the floor, and then abiding by the vote that ensues. That is how a law is changed, not having some ideological judge who does an ‘end around’ of the legislative branch of government, usurping the checks and balances set forth in the Constitution of the United States of America.
America is already at a most precipitous point in our history, we have meekly relinquished our responsibility of making sure our elected “employees” do what they are supposed to do for benefit of the general welfare of the citizens. through complicity we are allowing the Executive branch of government to rule by edict, another way to bypass the law making process.
I apologize for straying off topic, but I believe it all goes hand in hand. We cannot continue to allow the moral compass of the USA to be further eroded in the name of “progress”. Sin is sin, is sin, is sin and I was one of the worst while I ran from God thinking I knew what was best for me. The entire 25 years of my marriage was outside of the purveyance of the Lord. I was married in a Catholic Church and vowed a life long covenant with God, but I blew that.
The emotional destruction of my marriage cost me my wife, and my two older daughters and almost killed me, then I was afforded the grace of God and turned from a sinful life. I now minister to the heartbroken of divorce, helping to rebuild hearts and souls that were shattered by the sinful choices of the other spouse.
The quest for equality among Americans is a good and righteous endeavor if pursued and accomplished in the correct legal manner. We should not expect a panel of 9 judges to create moral adjustments in society, it is society’s job to do that through it’s duly elected representatives.
Thank you for affording me the honor of a spirited discourse in this forum.
Jackson
I agree with al and jeremy and Diane on this one. You are not grasping the teaching on this issue. Just trying to justify the “love” part of the Catholic faith and throw out the true teaching is missing the truth of who and what we are. When you take the Eucharist, Amen means I believe. I believe the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, It is fine if you do not, there are many other options out there. But please don’t ever say that the Church should change her stand on anything because it is 2013 and we need to get with the times. Holy cow!! And to say that the Church believes in Mary ever virgin because she was conceived through sex which we believed was “bad.” just tells me how far off you are in your understanding of all that we believe. And I get very frustrated when anyone thinks that Catholics who don’t agree with Gay Marriage don’t like gay people. That is just not the case. I will pray for you that the Holy Spirit will help you see the truth of what we do believe and why.
So well written! You sum it up so well! Thank you for writing!
Through 16 years of Catholic School the one statement from all the priests, nuns, and teachers that I have ever had the pleasure of learning from has always been The Lord’s teachings through scripture are parables on how to live our lives. They are to help guide us, to help mold us into good people not just good Catholics.
Throughout all the comments that I have read it really saddens me to read such underlying injustice and contempt for those who are not living a “traditional” life. Am I better then someone simply because I am married to a man?
I am on my second marriage as my first husband turned out to be a homosexual. Do I condemn him for marrying me before God and our Church in knowing he could never turkey love me the way he would love another man? No.
After learning of his “coming out” I spoke with a priest about many things regarding this issue. He was an older priest from “the old school” of Catholic thought. However, he told me God is Love. Though my ex-husband would now live a life of homosexuality he was made from God, he was made from love. Our earthly beings would never be able to fully and truly appreciate the awesomeness of God’s Love for us. Though he condemned my ex for being deceitful in his acceptance of our vowes, just as he says he does for any divorcing couple, he told me now is the time to prove God’s Love and help my ex not to deny his nature, but to know the path ahead would be treacherous, but can still lead to salvation.
I will never say to know or understand what God truly feels on today’s debate on equal rights for homosexuals. I can only affirm my belief that the God I pray to loves all his children equally and wishes to be with all of us in eternal bliss.
There are some critics who say that the purpose of marriage is procreation. How can two men or two women procreate? From that logic that certainly can not be married. I say those women and men who have been cursed with infertility, by that definition, should also have their marital rights stripped. Certainly infertility can not bring about a child so what exactly would be the point of their marriage? LOVE, the same purpose for same-sex marriage. To be utterly committed to one person forever.
I’m glad my first husband and I divorced. As during our marriage I too was told I was infertile (I assume that means we were damned from the start). After 3 years of fertility treatment I was told there was no hope. Once I married my second husband within 1 month I was pregnant. It in fact was a miracle. God has a plan for everyone. God uses everyone in mysterious ways. God acts in mysterious ways. There is always a method to why things happen. Someday we will, I believe, learn that God created homosexual to teach us respect, justice, love, and equality.
You can choose to disregard me. You can choose to say I’m not living my life according to God’s plan. I say to you show me God’s plan for me. Sow me where God tells me I should not be loving to all His people. Show me where He says I should hate, discriminate, and judge.
God is Love. Love is God.
Love it! Very well said! Feel exactly the same!
I know sooooooo many Catholics like you, who simply pick and choose what’s convenient to them. Please, I’m sure you also believe in unfettered abortion and love pedophiles and bigamists because they can’t help how they were born either. In layman’s terms, go FUCK yourself and your self righteous BS.
This was very well written. I fully support gay rights in the legal realm, because with a separation of church and state, the beliefs of one group of people shouldn’t affect the rights or legal status of others. I think that there should be a separation of “Christian Marriage” and “Legal unions”. In the legal realm, nothing is different, but within the church, we might deal with people based on our beliefs.
I talk more about this, and explain it a lot better here: http://joelcornett.com/2012/03/13/marriage-and-whatnot/
you are free to believe whatever you want ,it makes you feel good,but how do you explain the first chapter of Romans,where it talks about liars,adulterers,war mongers,homo sexuals,etc,as not going to heaven,you can’t have it you’re way, it’s God’s way
Thank you, thank you , thank you. This is so timely. I live in Columbus, Ohio and my sons both attended Bishop Watterson, the local Catholic high school, where the gym teacher for 19 years, who happens to be gay, was just fired because she included her partner of 15 years in her mother’s obituary. One parent made an issue of it and all hell broke loose. Thanks for reminding us that we are all God’s children.
Leviticus 20:13. Either you don’t believe what is in the bible, or you have chosen to ignore it. Either way you open yourself up for a lot of explaining here. I am always amused at people who ignore half the word of God and live by the other half.
Blueberries for me,
Thank you so much for post. You articulated my thoughts and feelings on this matter so eloquently. You have no idea how much I needed to hear those words today. As I read this aloud I wept. I got into a huge arguement with a man I am “was” dating on this very issue last night. The hateful statements coming out of his mouth were very hurtful.
Terms like perverted, sexual predators, and
sick/ twisted. He told me my beliefs in gay
rights and gay marriage is anti-catholic. If I
was truly Catholic I would not support this
type of heresy. I believe in a just and loving
god. A god who does not believe in oppression
and who welcomes diversity because he
created it. A god who wishes for peace and
harmony for all his people. A god that
encourages compassion rather than
judgement. I believe these are the values that define what it truly means to be Catholic.
Thank you so much for your blog post.