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PDF versionNew Ways Ministry: 'much to do with peoples' struggle, pain, little about sex'
Feb. 08, 2010
“I feel like they have slapped me in the face again.”
That sentence was emailed to me yesterday by a Catholic lesbian woman after she learned that Cardinal Francis George issued a negative “clarification” concerning New Ways Ministry. Like many lesbian/gay Catholics, this woman perceived George’s statement as directed not so much towards the organization which I direct, but towards herself and her lesbian /gay sisters and brothers in the Church.
Judging from past experience, I know that this woman’s sentiment will be experienced many times over by the thousands of Catholic lesbian/gay people whom I have met in my 15 years of working in this ministry. These are faith-filled Catholics, many of whom have been active in church life for many years, who regularly feel beaten down by hierarchical statements which lack any evidence that their issuers know anything about the reality of lesbian/gay lives. These are people who continue to seek bread from church leaders and instead are handed stones.
Who are these people? Well, one such person is Karen, a youth minister I know who happens to be a lesbian. Karen is well-respected in the parish where she works. She is a quiet and steady presence not only to the teens she serves, but to her colleagues on the parish staff. When I’ve asked her where she gets her inner calmness, she says that she unexpectedly developed this spiritual gift when she came to an awareness of her lesbian orientation. Though she is an honest person, no one in the parish knows what her orientation is. Karen is afraid she will lose her job if it is revealed.
Then there’s Joseph, who had been a member of a religious order for several years and who was dismissed because it became known that he was a gay man. Joseph struggled for many years with depression following this turmoil in his life. Despite belonging to a gay support group in his parish, the negative messages Joseph kept hearing from the hierarchy began to overwhelm him. At least that is what he said in the suicide note that he left behind him.
Elizabeth has been a Catholic for almost 70 years, but now describes herself as “on sabbatical” from the church. When her daughter revealed that she was a lesbian, Elizabeth found herself in a quandary. While she eventually found her way to accepting her daughter, Elizabeth’s husband did not. Tension mounted between the couple, and, after several years of counseling, Elizabeth ended her marriage of three decades. When she turned to her church for support, she continually found none, and, instead, was greeted with negative messages about her daughter.
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When Steve’s partner Robert died, he turned to his parish for support. They had been together for 38 years. For the past 36 years, Robert had been confined to a nursing home because of a debilitating disease. Steve’s faithfulness in visiting and caring for Robert impressed the staff, many of whom, especially in the earlier years, had no idea of the love these two men shared. When Steve went to seek spiritual assistance from his parish after Robert’s death, he was turned away, saying that it was not appropriate for him to join the widow/widower’s support group.
Stella and David had been Eucharistic ministers in their parish for over two decades. Their ministry ended after they wrote a letter to the local weekly newspaper in support of gay rights. They wrote how their faith in a God of justice impelled them to write in support of their gay son. After that letter appeared, their pastor told them they were no longer considered fit to distribute communion and were dismissed.
Sister Mary came to a New Ways Ministry workshop in the Midwest a few years back. The workshop was only a week away from Sister’s golden jubilee of her entrance into religious life. At the end of the day, she approached me to say that though she knew she was a lesbian a half-century ago when she entered the convent, she had never told another person that truth about herself. As a jubilee present to herself, she said she would start to tell the leaders of her community this reality about herself. It wouldn’t be easy, but she wanted to make the path easier for younger women in her community who might be experiencing the same spiritual journey that she has had.
When Eileen’s 19-year-old niece was thrown out of her parents’ home because she acknowledged that she was a lesbian, the young girl traveled across the country by bus and hitchhiking to live with her aunt, who is a pastoral minister in a suburban parish. Eileen, trained as a counselor, tried to patch up the family problems, but it would be months before there was even the slightest break in the wall of adamancy that the girl’s parents had created. What made reconciliation so difficult is that these parents’ actions were supported by what they had been taught in their parish as the proper thing to do if faced with a child who declared homosexuality.
What is remarkable about all these stories—and the many more that I can recount—is that none of them involve sexual activity. They all involve personal struggle, intense love, and, unfortunately, pain caused by the repetition of a teaching which fixates solely on sexual activity as the be all and end all of a lesbian/gay person’s life.
Anyone who has taken the time to listen to the stories of the lives of lesbian/gay people will come to realize that guidance about sexual activity is not where they need help most. It is the areas of living truthfully, openly, honestly, and courageously—the areas which consume most of their time and energy—where they seek the support of the Church.
For 33 years, New Ways Ministry has called on bishops to engage in dialogue with lesbian/gay Catholics so that these pastoral leaders can know the reality of the lives of whom they speak. A few have done so and have had their eyes opened up to a new world. Too many others have chosen to put their heads in the sand and have become oblivious not only to the lives which they so cavalierly discuss, but to the pain that such discussions add to these people’s experiences.
[Francis DeBernardo is the executive director of New Ways Ministry.]
Related stories
- Cardinal: ministry to gays inauthentic teaching , CNS news story
- Gay group director responds to cardinal's criticisms, NCR news story
- New Ways Ministry: 'much to do with peoples' struggle, pain, little about sex', commentary by Francis DeBernardo
- DeBernardo: 'persistent, gracious, thoughtful, questioning', commentary by NCR editor at large Tom Roberts
Too bad there was no NEW WAYS
Too bad there was no NEW WAYS MINISTRY around when this was going on in the Holy Roman Catholic Church:
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/bishops-were-warned-abusive-pri...
Please, PLEASE don't further
Please, PLEASE don't further muddy already murky waters! Don't try to equate homosexuality with sexual predation, pedophilia and sexual victimization!
The fact that there may be a disproportionate number of sexual predators (I'm not familiar with the statistics) AND homosexuals to be found amongst the priesthood does NOT mean that one follows the other! They are separate issues entirely. Pedophiles can be found in both the hetero- and homosexual population, and it should never be dismissed as a homosexual issue only.
When you think of pedophilia and sexual abuse within the ranks of the priesthood, you MUST remember the number of girls AND women who also suffered at the hands of abusive priests!
By linking homosexuality and pedophilia, you risk overlooking the existence of two groups of victims, and you deny them a voice and healing.
Just some thoughts.
But it is changing, at least
But it is changing, at least in the world. "Don't ask, don't tell" is being reviewed for the military and it looks as if it will go the wayside. They say the younger generations see things differently and I believe that is true overall even though many of the older generations also see the changes and accept them. The church will be the last to get on board and as is usual they will only come on board when the people just don't listen to them anymore. So the bishops and cardinals will continue to bluster and cause pain and the people will go on learning and adapting to what is real and the world will continue to go around. Jesus tried to teach that we can adapt without all the pain but the powerful do not hear his message and never will.
I really do not understand
I really do not understand why gays and lesbians feel the need to "tell". Most straights do not want to hear about it. Do we have the right to not know that a relative, co-worker is attracted to a member(s) of the same sex? I personally do not see it as courageous when they come out - I see it as "Look at me! I'm gay and proud of it."
It’s not about “feeling the
It’s not about “feeling the need to tell” or “look at me, I’m gay and proud of it”, as you phrase it. Don’t ask, don’t tell, is as unworkable in the Church as it is in the military, and fundamentally requires pretending to be someone you are not, and being at constant risk of rejection if found out. Stigmas and unfounded negative stereotypes abound.
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In the Catholic Church where “vocation” is normally viewed as marriage, religious or priesthood — all of which are enthusiastically community supported, and general guidelines exist — homosexuality is not something easily hidden for long periods of time, trying to “pass” as just another single person and weathering well-intentioned match-makers. A Catholic who happens to also have a homosexual orientation, has to find their rightful expression of the chaste Christian life just like everyone else, except that the usual resources and models of family units or support systems are generally absent.
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That is partly because of squeamish heterosexuals who are unwilling to accept and love everyone, as Christ loved — perhaps even fearing that their own orientation might fall into question. Perhaps it is also the gutter mentality that ponders what ‘they might do should they act on their orientation’ — whether they actually do or not. Every Christian, regardless of orientation or vocation, deserves to have the unqualified support of the Christian community as they find their way and learn to live with the cards they are dealt in life. Homosexual orientation is a difficult hand to manage, particularly in a homophobic environment.
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Unfortunately, Catholic Christians are often inclined to speculate and assume the worst, rather than encourage and support the best — especially if someone is different than themselves. Hierarchical verbiage doesn’t help the situation. There is also undue emphasis on notions about sexual behavior in the minds of many uneasy heterosexuals (something upon which they would be unlikely to fixate among heterosexuals in a similar situation), to the exclusion of every day realities of life that are common to everyone… such as companionship versus loneliness, next of kin medical issues, long term relationships and support systems being established… to name a few, when marriage is not an option.
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Rather than tell another human person they should remain invisible or remain behind a facade, why not instead ask, ‘how can I help’?
I feel exactly the same way
I feel exactly the same way about Viagra commercials amongst a host of other sexually explicit heterosexual commercials. I really wish heterosexuals would stop being led around by Madison Avenue and put sexuality in it's God given place which is not, according to Church teaching, in everybody's face.
It has always puzzled me as
It has always puzzled me as to why there is this need to tell people and I think it stems from the gay community constantly pressuring people to "come out" even to the poit where they have in the past threatened to "out" people if they did not do so voluntarily.
I feel there is a lack of sense of privacy and appropriateness in our culture. I find deeply intimate displays of affection by men and women whether "straight" or "gay" vulgar and tiresome and selfish.
Why can't people show a bit of class and confine public displays of affection to a hug or a kiss on the cheek and a handshake.
"Jesus tried to teach that we
"Jesus tried to teach that we can adapt without all the pain"
When did Jesus ever "adapt"? And he ever say we could avoid pain?
You are certainly not a
You are certainly not a theologian if you say Jesus came to "adapt without all the pain." Do you remember that little thing about the Cross?
The question is this: does
The question is this: does New Ways Ministry want to conform to Church teaching? If this is the case and New Ways Ministry really wants to authentically address the needs of those who have same-sex attraction, then they need to adopt the philosophy of the COURAGE group, which stresses obedience to the Church and chastity. Otherwise, what's the point? Perhaps New Ways Ministry needs to consider becoming an Anglican organization. That way, they and the LCWR could continue to exist with no opposition from their ecclesial community.
Thank you, TNCath, for
Thank you, TNCath, for telling it like it is. I also suggest that New Ways Ministry become an Anglican organization. I read a definition of insanity as being the repetition over and over again of behaviors that fail. Wake up New Ways Ministry: The Catholic Church will never condone your "new ways," because they are nothing more than the old ways of saying that bad is good and good is bad. Amen
I want to know why Courage
I want to know why Courage doesn't open it's ministry to straight singles with 'opposite sex' atttraction. The issues of chastity and obedience are identical. The fact that Courage limits it's ministry to only one side of the equation is discriminatory and seems to me to isolate one group of people while ignoring the vast majority of unmarried 'opposite sexually' attracted.
I assume you say the same of
I assume you say the same of the New Ways ministry?
Both the Old & New Testaments
Both the Old & New Testaments condemn sex outside of marriage for heterosexuals, as well, yet many of these unmarried couples "living in sin" receive Eucharist regularly. Why aren't these people being denied communion, why are they allowed to gather at church gatherings without comment? I don't want this to happen but there are two unevenly used standards.
You are right. We need more
You are right. We need more clear statements prior to communion that people have the choice of receiving a blessing or communion so that anyone who knows they ought not to receive communion because they are not Catholic or are living a way of life which has cut them off from full union eg they are unmarried but not chaste in their behaviour.
A much clearer message must be established at every mass that we must reflect and not receive Jesus in a soul blackened by serious sin with no intention of changing that sinful behavior because this hardening of heart is a great hypocrisy and Jesus loathed hypocrisy.
As for gathering at Church any one can enter a Church God's house is open to all but not if they are going to enter as a group rejoicing in a lifestyle which goes against Church teaching.
We are all sinners we all need God's abundant mercy and grace.Any sin is a source of sadness to a heart yearning for God and each day we should all strive to become holy.
So yes the Church might be full of same sex attracted people opposite sex attracted people people drawn to greed, pride, envy,gluttony. However we don't wear sashes rejoicing in these matters . We go as individual human beings in need of God's Amazing Grace.
I can't begin to say how
I can't begin to say how saddened and distressed I am by the total lack of pastoral concern shown by Cardinal Francis George. His statements and his attitude would be unbelievable but for his statements, attitude and behavior vis-a-vis the church's continuing sexual abuse problems and the conspiracy of collusion and cover-up by bishops like himself in dioceses like his across the United States.
Why he hasn't been removed from office long ago is a testament that Clericalism is very much alive and well in the Roman Catholic Church. George's actions in protecting and enabling known sexual predators in the Archdiocese of Chicago are well known.
When will Pope Benedict XVI realize and address the fact that the structural systems of the Roman Catholic Church are essentially flawed beyond repair, that Clericalism has corrupted much of the episcopal leadership and that an entirely new model of Church is required?
While individuals like Francis George are to be pitied, they should not be in positions where pastoral concern for all God's people is part of their job description.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
New Castle, Delaware
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
Sister Maureen, First of all,
Sister Maureen,
First of all, I find it interesting that you feel so uniquely qualified to tell Cardinal George what his job is. Second, Cardinal George IS showing his pastoral concern for persons with same sex attraction by clearly stating that New Ways Ministry is NOT a reflection of true Catholic teachings. That, Sister, IS his job as Archbishop of Chicago. Third, as to your demanding that "Pope Benedict realize and address the fact that the structural systems of the Roman Catholic Church are essentially flawed beyond repair," certainly, in the spirit of inclusion and collaboration, you would also would also include in that assessment the superiors of religious communities in the United States.
Sister, if you are looking for a "new model of Church" (without the article "the" of course), I sincerely suggest you check out the Anglicans. They are looking for someone just like you! They might even ordain you and give you a free reign to do just about anything you'd like. They might even give you a parish! Wouldn't that make you happy? I think it would certainly make them happy!
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!
Grace does build on Nature,
Grace does build on Nature, that is a porinciple in Catholic doctrine and is perfectly demonstrated in the tone of DeBernardo's ministry and his response to the Cardinal, and in the stories he relates. I can't imagine Father, Son and Holy Spirit respecting the lines drawn to clearly mark territory for in's and out's. The Church leadership and majority have so much to learn from the significant numbers of the Faithful who have to deal with the fact that they or their sons or daughters or friends are born homosexual.
You are assuming they are
You are assuming they are born homosexual. And even if they are, if a person is born a pedophile, do we accept their pedophilia?
Pedophelia is by definition
Pedophelia is by definition always abusive and exploitative. It is by definition an unequal relationship between an adult and a minor. It is destructive for both the predator and the victim. Adult committed homosexual relationships are by definition neither exploitive nor destructive. They are relationships based in love not power.
If this is an example of the thinking of a 'catholic' theologian it is a perfect example of the maxim 'bad psychology equals bad theology'.
they are relationships built
they are relationships built on sexual gratification.
Dear Frank, Thank you and New
Dear Frank,
Thank you and New Ways Ministry for continuing to bring Love, and Hope to those so ruthlessly attacked by what is supposed to be a Universal Church. Did Jesus not come for us all? It seems Cardinal George and many others want the "Catholic" Church to be a private club and they alone hold the secret criteria for membership. If only the criteria could remain the "Spirit of Jesus", all those seeking Justice, Peace and Love in the world, would have a gold membership card!
Nature is the creation of God and all persons are an integral part of that nature and play a role in God's plan. We need a Church that honors God's creations more and their narrow views less. Holiness comes to all by being true to their God given nature. It is called being authentic! It is the essence of truth, the basis of humility, goodness and alignment with God.
Your response was true and touching. Let us continue to hope that someday the hierarchy will realize they have forgotten why "Our Savior" came and stop being so judgmental and more filled with the "One Commandment" of Jesus. Love others as I have loved you.
Keep up working for those who need it most.
Barb, you are right, the
Barb, you are right, the Church is certainly not a private club. It is universal and is for all of us sinners. But we can't try to excuse our sin by saying its just part of our nature. While we can certainly debate whether Cardinal George's statement was the most affective way of handling the situation, it seems that at least on this point the hierarchy is being faithful and consistent. Listen to St. Paul, one of the earliest members of the Catholic hierarchy: "Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Lets all seek to deepen our own conversion and not hinder our brothers and sisters confirming them in a dangerous lifestyle.
well, the best thing is to
well, the best thing is to continue doing the ministry one is doing.
Yet, clearly there is
Yet, clearly there is something going unreported here. Cardinal George is an intelligent man. He wouldn't have written the statement unless he genuinely believed the New Ways was going against Church teaching. What is the NCR not telling us?
I fear for homosexuals and their basic dignity. If the Church doesn't remind these people that they worth more than their sexual orientation, and that their sexual orientation doesn't define them, then they will believe (as they seem to do) that only through expressing their sexuality can freedom be obtained. This reduces their human worth. A human is so much more than just sexual inclinations and functions! The Church's teaching on homosexuality is really one of compassion, value, and yes, sacrifice. I'm sick of seeing Church teaching misrepresented by the media.
COURAGE's minsistry was
COURAGE's minsistry was always about sex and addiction, with odd Freudian twists, barely clinging to Catholicism at best.
DIGNITY's ministry was always about dissent from Church teaching about sex, forming odd and embarrassing alliances with just about every other dissenting community.
But NEW WAYS' ministry was always planted firmly in Church teaching about vocation, sacred friendships, holiness and chastity. There is a single sentence in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that mentions gay sex. There are many many more that mention gay holiness. NEW WAYS IS FAITHFUL in ways that any self respecting Catholic Traditionalist should appreciate! You are simply teaching the Catechism. Or Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body for gay people.
(You say it best, Francis, when you say, "Anyone who has taken the time to listen to the stories of the lives of lesbian/gay people will come to realize that guidance about sexual activity is not where they need help most.")
Cardinal George is going where some of his colleagues have gone before. By attacking a clearly orthodox organization like NEW WAYS, and doing it on the letterhead of the bishops' conference, he is saying,
"The Catechism of the Catholic Church has no place in the American Church."
Visit Courage and read Father
Visit Courage and read Father Harvey's writings He was a wonderfully compassionate priest who worked to bring hope and strength to same sex attracted people. The name Courage says it all He knew it took courage to live a chaste life when you recognised same sex attraction in your self but He also refused to sell same sex attracted catholics short by saying give up and don't even try just as you would never tell an alcoholic give up drink and don't even bother trying.
A note to TNCath... COURAGE
A note to TNCath...
COURAGE cannot be considered Catholic in any meaningful way. Read their literature, or Father Harvey's books. They are, at best, sort of a Sexaholics Anonymous support group. At worst, their "spirituality" is a weird blend of Freudian psychology and Evangelical Protestant political correctness.
I know, I know, COURAGE is the darling of some bishops. But senior prelates, like Cardinal George, should be calling them out.
In fact, that's the irony. NEW WAYS is the group who is faithful to the magesterium! DIGNITY are dissenters. And COURAGE are just bizarre.
Readers of NCR should be
Readers of NCR should be aware that Cardinal George accepts AGLO - the Chicago's Archdiocese Gay and Lesbian Outreach which meets weekly in Ou Lady of Mount Carmel Parish - Belmont Ave a- see www.aglochicago.org
It would be very naive of the Cardinal and of us to think that AGLO attendees agree with him that all homosexual acts and partnerships are mortally sinful. They most likely agree- with the New Ways Ministries and Dignity in allowing gay and lesbian people to follow their conscience along with the latest facts coming from anthropology, psychology and sociology - that being gay or lesbian is natural and that grace can build on this nature and that gay and lesbian love is no less love than heterosexual love and that it is divinely blessed.
The ministers there may preach the official line but probably with a wink and a nod. Can they honestly say their communicants are not living together as partners for life or even married - in nearby Canada or New England. In any case I do not imagine AGLO is run like Courage the official Catholic group that shames gay and lesbian people by treating same sex sexual desire as a twelve-step addiction that needs to be abstained from completely as a form of insanity.
The only difference between New Ways and AGLO Chicago is that AGLO knows not to be public in its criticism of church policies Unfortunately it allows Cardinal George to pretend to be compassionate to gays - on the local front - while scoring points with the Vatican on the international frontand the rabidly homophobic commentators on this blog. This hypocrisy is not in keeping with being the chairman of the Amerioan Conference
of Bishops AGLO members will no doubt attend the News Ministries March conference and they should. Go to their site www.aglochicago.org and think about all of this.
I would like to hear the opinions of some of the AGLO community on this. NCR should do a story on AGLO
I guess that many celibate
I guess that many celibate clerics and churchleaders are still obsessed with sexuality/sex. Their moral conscience is still centered on areas below the belt.
Don't hold your breath
Don't hold your breath thinking anything good will come out of Benedict's reign that will grow the church and unite its people. He is spending a lot of time unraveling VaticanII and cementing the presence and power of the ultra conservatives who would return our church to the "know it all" clerical oligarcy and obedient, blind followers. It is amazing to me that God gave mankind free will and the church is so willing to subjugate that will to any nut case that wears a black robe.
Dear Frank, Please keep the
Dear Frank,
Please keep the struggle going. Today's reading - 1 Kings 8:22-30 - talks of when Solomon was praying in his favourite place, the temple. But he also acknowledged that God was too immense to be ever limited to one building and one people. One of the blatant sins of religious people is to 'put God in a box' - to see God as one who favours one group over another. ... one who favours heterosexuals and hates homosexuals. "God in a Box" - whatever that box might be is an idol.Cardinal George too is worshipping an idol - a golden calf of his own imagination that is discriminatory and ultimatley hateful.
When I read the stories of the people here who are gay or lesbian, I read stories of love - and broken hearts. Love will find a way through sheer hard work, persistence, sacrifice, suffering and joy. Love was, Love is, Love will. Again, please keep the struggle going, knowing that like the rest of us, gays and lesbians are made in the image of God. And that God - our God - is love.
Jane Anderson
Francis, your work is ever
Francis, your work is ever more needed and valuable under this kind of attack. Stay strong, stick to the mission. We are with you.
God bless Cardinal George and
God bless Cardinal George and the conference for preaching the Truth. He said what needed to be said. I notice the article above fails to mention the condemnation of 2 of New Ways more prominent members by the CDF years ago.
Dear Cardinal George, What
Dear Cardinal George,
What Jesus has to say about Causing harm to children
Mark 9 vs 42-48
42 “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.a 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.b 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“ ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’
What Jesus has to say about homosexuality: 0
Remember, Cardinal George, Jesus is referred to over and over as "The Son of David". You know David as of Johnathan...
How about addressing with appropriate wrath those who have harmed children and those who sheltered them. Sound like Jesus wanted capitol punishment for them...
He had NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION!!
He may or may not have married.
He may or may have not have loved Mary Magdalen most.
He may or may have not have loved John most.
We do not know, but what we do know is HE SAID NOTHING ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY AND A LOT ABOUT HARMING CHILDREN.
PERHAPS YOU SHOULD SPENT MORE TIME ON WHAT HE DID SAY and not on what we do not know....after all he is the Leader in Chief...
What if little ones also
What if little ones also refers to those ignorant of Jesus' teaching? Logically then any group that causes those ignorant of the faith to be drawn in to sin or continue in sin are doing something that Jesus condemns in no uncertain terms just as the Cardinal is warning the New Ways Ministry is not true to the teachings of Christ in regard to chastity.The Church has always taught and continues to teach that we are all to remain chaste ans sex is to be kept for marriage. There is no discrimination against same sex attracted people. They are in the same boat as the rest of us.
According to Saint Paul, "It
According to Saint Paul, "It is better to marry than to burn with passion [or sexual desire]" (1 Corinthians 7:9). But our most Holy and Compassionate Mother, the Church, allows the option of marriage only to her first class citizens, the heterosexual majority. Those whom God has created homosexual are deprived of this option even though Jesus himself said (Matthew 19:12) that lifelong celibacy in not for everyone. Furthermore, in practice, the Church expects gay people to hide even their sexual orientation and, if necessary, lie about it. If you really think about this, can you state with fairness and justice that "[t]hey are in the same boat as the rest of us"?
I sincerely wish that the Church would at least stick to her own teachings. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Section 2358), "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. ... THEY MUST BE ACCEPTED WITH RESPECT, COMPASSION, AND SENSITIVITY." However, when gay people are harassed, injured, murdered, or horrendous laws are enacted against them, the Holy Mother the Church is deafeningly silent.
Because of their own
Because of their own development, their own structure in consciousness, Cardinal George and much of the rest of the church hierarchy see themselves and each of us as separate individuals. The ancient mystics and what we know from science tells us that that is not reality.
According to Saint Paul, "It
According to Saint Paul, "It is better to marry than to burn with passion [or sexual desire]" (1 Corinthians 7:9). But our most Holy and Compassionate Mother, the Church, allows the option of marriage only to her first class citizens, the heterosexual majority. Those whom God has created homosexual are deprived of this option even though Jesus himself said (Matthew 19:12) that lifelong celibacy in not for everyone. Furthermore, in practice, the Church expects gay people to hide even their sexual orientation and, if necessary, lie about it. If you really think about this, can you state with fairness and justice that "[t]hey are in the same boat as the rest of us"?
I sincerely wish that the Church would at least stick to her own teachings. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Section 2358), "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. ... THEY MUST BE ACCEPTED WITH RESPECT, COMPASSION, AND SENSITIVITY." However, when gay people are harassed, injured, murdered, or horrendous laws are enacted against them, the Holy Mother the Church is deafeningly silent.
The Church has always
The Church has always condemned violence .How can any of us harass injure if they are following Christ's commands. What horrendous laws? There are no legal statutes against homosexual activity in western countries.Non Christian penalties and laws enacted against homosexual activity were and continue to be extremely harsh. The Church continues to urge all of us to aspire to purity.However those who choose to ignore the Church's teaching are free to do so.
Dear “Not True”, For a start,
Dear “Not True”,
For a start, I would like to suggest that you look up the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda and see how the Vatican reacted to it so far; or, the reaction of the Vatican's observer, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, to a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality.
God bless you and good luck in your search on the Internet.
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