Bishop Schneider: "obvious Manipulation" At Synod

[CatherineM]

I think Malta is beautiful. I'm trained in theology and psychology. I'm so well respected in the field of mental illness that I'm a frequent guest lecturer at the U of A and the U of C's medical schools. I teach continuing education for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. I'm a routine part of the psychiatric nursing curriculum at Grant MacEwan and Glenrose Hospital.

Do I think that homosexuality is a mental illness? My answer to that question has evolved over the years. I think human sexuality is on a bell curve with hyper homo and hetero being at the poles. I think most of us are closer to the middle. I think those who have found comfort in therapy are closer to the middle than the pole. Those that have experienced trauma from the therapy are closer to the pole.

If the purpose of therapy is to seek healing, it should be available to those who want it. It shouldn't be forced or even recommended to those who are comfortable with their sexuality. Why would God make people have desires that put them in conflict with Church law? That's a good question. I suspect it's one of many questions that will only become clear to me after my death. I know there is a good reason. It's just beyond me.

I'm not a Traddie. I receive in the hand, wear pants to church not veils, and I love Marty Hagan. All have gotten me attacked more than once on Phatmass. I thought many things Benedict did were missteps, especially resigning. I knew the Holy Spirit would take care of the Church through that big misstep, and it did, but that doesn't change the fact that his resignation was wrong. I say this so you won't attack my ideas in the wrong assumption that I'm another Traddie piling on.

I know all of the debates that we show our love by reminding people about what the Church teaches. Yes, we should always speak the truth, and we should be allowed to do so without being called homophobes or hatemongers. However, I believe that we can speak these truths without bile. I'm with Pope Francis, "who am I to judge?" I was once stabbed for saying my only judge is Jesus Christ. How could I possibly judge others when I was willing to die for my belief that only Christ can judge?

[truthfinder]

 If only Malta had enough room for all of you.

Good bye. 

 

I wish it did: I'd look fantastic in that cape!

[Socrates]

Let's just thank God he's some auxiliary from a backwater in Kazakhstan and he has no real influence. I'm fine for the crazies to be kept together in trad-dom to harp on about how horrible Pope Francis is and curing those disordered gay people while the rest of us get on with the business of loving people and drawing them to Christ.

 

Yeah, I'm really feeling the love in all your posts.

[Maggyie]

Aragon I for one agree with you that the bishop wading into the medical field makes him seem batty. I think the general consensus is while sexuality has implications for psychological health, it's not rooted there at all.

I think we have to cut him a break because he may be from a part of the world where education on this isn't the best.

Nevertheless you have to realize that sexuality isn't like having brown eyes or blue eyes where one or the other has no implication in how well you see. Human reproduction is an intricate biological system and sexuality can not exist apart from it; it is part of our evolution. When one part of the system (desire and attraction) comes unmoored from the rest of the system so that it no longer functions to drive us towards its goal (reproduction) what does that imply? Keep in mind this isn't a moral judgment. Keep in mind that evidence suggests we developed the capacity to experience sexual attraction and pleasure solely as a means to induce repeated mating and pregnancy.

In other words the issue isn't mental but I think it will likely be traced to an abnormal environment in the womb resulting in neurological changes. Again it's not like brown hair or blue eyes. From Mother Nature's point of view there is only one efficient way to mate.

Incidentally I think a lot of the reaction about people calling it a mental disease reflects more on how society continues to view mental illness. As sickos, psychos etc. so of course it wouldn't be fair to associate gay people with those lepers.

[Aragon]

Nihil (and anyone else I may have offended),

I do apologise if I have expressed myself in a less than charitable way. Both my little sister and oldest friend are lesbians so this is a topic I get very upset over, and I often struggle to balance accepting Catholic teaching with my desire to love and accept them fully.

 

I honestly do believe comments like +Schneider's (and, as an aside, many of +Burke's) are hurtful to both gay people and their loved ones. I understand that condemning the sin while loving the sinner is a hard balance to achieve. Sometimes I fall too hard on loving the sinner to the point where I ignore the sin, but I also think many people fall so hard on condemning the sin that they don't express themselves in a way that loves the sinner and is in accord with their dignity as a child of God. I hope that the Church can adopt an approach that achieves that delicate balance, because at the moment I don't think we're there.That's my strong opinion, but you're welcome to disagree with me. As I said this is a personal issue for me, so I tend to react strongly.

 

Again I'm sorry for being uncharitable in any of my comments.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Aragon

[Credo in Deum]

Nihil (and anyone else I may have offended),

I do apologise if I have expressed myself in a less than charitable way. Both my little sister and oldest friend are lesbians so this is a topic I get very upset over, and I often struggle to balance accepting Catholic teaching with my desire to love and accept them fully.

I honestly do believe comments like +Schneider's (and, as an aside, many of +Burke's) are hurtful to both gay people and their loved ones. I understand that condemning the sin while loving the sinner is a hard balance to achieve. Sometimes I fall too hard on loving the sinner to the point where I ignore the sin, but I also think many people fall so hard on condemning the sin that they don't express themselves in a way that loves the sinner and is in accord with their dignity as a child of God. I hope that the Church can adopt an approach that achieves that delicate balance, because at the moment I don't think we're there.That's my strong opinion, but you're welcome to disagree with me. As I said this is a personal issue for me, so I tend to react strongly.

Again I'm sorry for being uncharitable in any of my comments.

Thank you, Aragon.

I know that there are going to be things we disagree with and things we do agree with. I believe you genuinely care for others and that this is the driving force behind the positions you take. This topic of homosexuality hits very close to home for me as well since two of my older half brothers identify as homosexual and so do many of my friends. I love them all dearly and pray that I can be the best Catholic I can be for them. I completely understand the difficulty one can run into and the fine line that exists between hating the sin and loving the sinner. IMO I think if we all met face to face that a lot of us would find more in common with each other than we would think possible. A lot of things go missing on an Internet forum, things which can help us understand each other.

Again thank you for your apology. I likewise want to apologize if anything I've said has offended you or anyone else on this forum.

God Bless.