Homosexuality And The Church

[Amppax]

Ok so this is a topic that gives me some trouble. The Church teaches that homosexual acts are inherently sinful, however that homosexual desires are not, by themselves sinful. Also the medical consensus is that sexual orientation is biological in nature, and thus people who are homosexual are homosexual from birth. My question is what we as Catholics can do to help these people live fulfilling lives, considering they are not allowed to act on their desires in anyway. Sorry if this question isn't very clear.

Thanks

Alex

[TeresaBenedicta]

Hi Alex, thanks for your question-- it's certainly a timely one.

One thing, I think, that has failed to be emphasized in this discussion, is that those who have same-sex attraction are not alone in their call to chastity. [i]Any person[/i] who is not married is called to chastity... so even a heterosexual cannot act on his/her desires outside of the sacarament of marriage. The same is true of one who is married. Any person that is married is called to be chaste in his/her own right, which means only engaging in sexual acts with their spouse. So even if a married person is attracted to another person, he/she cannot act on those desires.

I think it's helpful to remember that those with same-sex attraction are not uniquely singled out. There are many, many people who are in the position of being deeply attracted to someone, but are unable to act on those desires. So sexual relations aren't merely sinful for homosexuals, but also for priests/nuns, married people (if not with their spouse), and singles. Any one of those people could say that they truly love someone, but it would be sinful for them to act on that love, physically.

And that is a difficult situation, for [i]anyone[/i]. It involves a lot of suffering.

Still, it is what is best for us. We deny ourselves because we know, even if we don't fully understand why, that it is for our good.

So long as we fight against God's will for us, we will be unhappy. But the beauty of the Christian life is that we can draw good even from suffering. When we are able to give up our will and embrace God's, we will be at peace. Will the suffering be taken away? Not necessarily. Perhaps it is a cross that one struggles with for the rest of their earthly lives (we all have one!). But with Jesus the cross is sweet and the burden light. I personally love this quote from Fr. Walter Ciszek, who spent 23 agonizing years in a Soviet prison. He says, "The greatest sense of freedom, along with peace of soul, and an abiding sense of security, comes when a man totally abandons his own will in order to follow the will of God…"

All of this to say... To answer your question about what we can do for our brothers and sisters to help those who struggle with same-sex attraction... It is the same the we do to help all who have a cross to carry. We must help them to see God's will and embrace it accordingly. It's a life-long goal. And it's difficult. But it's the call of every Christian. To embrace each day as it is given to us by God, even when it involves great suffering...

[CatherineM]

For more information on how to help others with this burdensome cross, I highly recommend the [url="http://www.couragerc.net/"]Courage[/url] Apostolate. Their website can answer most of the questions around this issue.