Homosexual Tendencies

[at0m1c]

Ok, so gay sex is wrong.

If a guy is attracted to another guy, is that wrong?
Or does it become wrong only when this guy acts on this attraction?

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='at0m1c' date='May 26 2005, 02:03 AM']Ok, so gay sex is wrong.[/quote]
Correct, homosexual acts are gravely sinful.

[quote name='at0m1c' date='May 26 2005, 02:03 AM']If a guy is attracted to another guy, is that wrong?[/quote]
The homosexual inclination, although it is not in itself a sin, is a disorder of the mind and gnomic will caused by the fall of man from grace; thus, it is an objective disorder tending toward an intrinsic moral evil and as such it is a be resisted.

[quote name='at0m1c' date='May 26 2005, 02:03 AM']Or does it become wrong only when this guy acts on this attraction?[/quote]
As I indicated above, the homosexual inclination cannot be thought of as [i]normal[/i] or [i]good[/i], but it is not in itself a sin. On the other hand, homosexual acts are devoid of a proper moral finality, and as such they are always, and in every case, gravely immoral.


[i]Below is a repost of a brief essay that I wrote on this topic in another thread here at Phatmass:[/i]

There is no such thing as being "gay," and so a man must never be reduced in his subsistent being to the disordered inclinations that afflict his mind (nous) and will (i.e., the gnomic will, and not the natural will which remains unaffected by the ancestral sin). The homosexual inclination, like other disordered inclinations (e.g., pedophilia and ephebophilia, or kleptomania and other compulsive disorders), does not exist ontologically; instead, it is a "pathological constitution" [1] of the mind ([i]nous[/i]) and gnomic will, caused by the fall of man from grace.

Moreover, the Church teaches that the homosexual inclination "is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil," [2] and so although the condition is not in itself a sin, it is not to be thought of as [i]benign[/i], [i]morally neutral[/i], or worse, as a [i]good[/i]. Instead, the homosexual condition must be seen for what it is, i.e., a relative absence of the good in the gnomic will of the creature, and so no one [i]is[/i] "gay." [3]

That being said, it is true that some human beings are afflicted with homosexual tendencies, but as the Magisterium teaches, those who experience these disordered desires are to strive to overcome them by the power of God's grace. As a consequence, no one must ever identify himself with a moral privation (i.e., an objective disorder of the mind and gnomic will), and when discussing this issue it is vital that a Catholic avoid the politically correct terminology of modern secular culture.

Sadly the APA, under pressure from homosexual activists, removed this objective disorder from its category of mental illnesses afflicting man; but regardless, the Church continues to teach that the homosexual inclination, like any other disordered inclination, is a disorder of the mind ([i]nous[/i]) and gnomic will caused by the fall. Therefore, a Catholic must be resolute in teaching the truth about man as it has been revealed in Christ Jesus, and must not fall into the error of describing this pathological disorder with the politically correct terminology of modern secular society.

NOTES:

[1] See the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's instruction, [u]Persona Humana[/u], no. 8; as the CDF instruction explains, "A distinction is drawn, and it seems with some reason, between homosexuals whose tendency comes from a false education, from a lack of normal sexual development, from habit, from bad example, or from other similar causes, and is transitory or at least not incurable; and homosexuals who are definitively such because of some kind of innate instinct or a pathological constitution judged to be incurable." In some individuals this disordered inclination, which is a mental ([i]psychological[/i]) disorder related to the fall, may take on characteristics that cause it to perdure over time, but it remains a disorder nonetheless and must not be thought of as an essential component of a man's nature.

[2] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, [u]Homosexualitatis Problema[/u], no. 3.

[3] See the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's instruction, [u]Homosexualitatis Problema[/u], no. 3; sadly after the publication of the instruction [u]Persona Humana[/u] some people began to teach that the homosexual inclination itself was not objectively disordered, but that only homosexual activity was to be described as disordered. Now in order to clarify this mistake the CDF stated the following: "Explicit treatment of the problem was given in this Congregation's Declaration on [u]Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics[/u] [[i]Persona Humana[/i]] of December 29, 1975. That document stressed the duty of trying to understand the homosexual condition and noted that culpability for homosexual acts should only be judged with prudence. At the same time the Congregation took note of the distinction commonly drawn between the homosexual condition or tendency and individual homosexual actions. These were described as deprived of their essential and indispensable finality, as being [i]intrinsically disordered[/i], and able in no case to be approved of (cf. n. 8, 4). In the discussion which followed the publication of the Declaration, however, an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral, or even good. Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not."