Is being gay a sin in catholic
Is being gay a sin?
Of course not! Both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the U.S. Catholic Bishops recognize that sexual orientation is not a choice and is not sinful: &#;Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose&#; (&#;Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers,&#; U.S. Catholic Bishops, ).
Being gay is not sinful. It is another part of the wonderful mystery of humankind, created in the image of God. But the Church teaches that sexual relations are reserved for the sacramental union of a man and a gal in marriage, where that intimacy has twin purposes: their union, as a couple, and procreation, expressed as openness to the gift of life. Sexual relations between men or between women cannot fulfill both purposes of sexual intimacy. Thus the Church calls gays and lesbians to celibate chastity. Likewise, the Church calls for respect, comp
Homosexuality
Throughout history, Jewish and Christian scholars have recognized that one of the chief sins involved in God’s destruction of Sodom was its people’s homosexual behavior. But today, certain homosexual activists promote the thought that the sin of Sodom was merely a lack of hospitality. Although inhospitality is a sin, it is clearly the homosexual behavior of the Sodomites that is singled out for special criticism in the account of their city’s destruction. We must look to Scripture’s own interpretation of the sin of Sodom.
Jude 7 records that Sodom and Gomorrah “acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust.” Ezekiel says that Sodom committed “abominable things” (Ezek. ), which could mention to homosexual and heterosexual acts of sin. Lot even offered his two virgin daughters in place of his guests, but the men of Sodom rejected the offer, preferring homosexual sex over heterosexual sex (Gen. –9). But the Sodom incident is not the only age the Old Testament deals with homosexuality. An explicit condemnation is found in the book of Leviticus: “You shall not lounge with a m
A few years before gay marriage became the law of the land, I was in a Baltimore pub having dinner with a Jesuit priest. We were talking about vocation, and I was telling him I wanted to go to graduate college so I could grasp how to offer theological arguments in favor of homosexuality.
“And you know”, I told him, “the story of Sodom and Gomorrah isn’t about homosexuality per se, but rape. Even Jesus interprets the cities’ downfall in terms of their inhospitality.”
“Sure”, he said, taking another drink.
“And the biblical laws prohibiting same-sex activity were intended to maximise the population”, I added.
He nodded.
“And Paul’s rhetoric about what goes against nature …”
He slash me off. “Why are you so obsessed with this? You want to focus all your graduate work on this?”
I didn’t understand the question. I had to focus all my attention on this. These were the so-called “clobber passages” that Catholics and Protestants alike include used to marginalise gay people for centuries. I couldn’t just leave them be. I couldn’t just let them go unchallenged.
“Taking on these passa
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Roman Catholic Church
BACKGROUND
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately billion members across the globe. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership––in the person of the Pope––to St. Peter, identified by Jesus as “the rock” on which the Church would be built.
The Catholic Church in the United States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop. Those Provinces are further divided into dioceses, each led by a bishop. At the base of the organizational structure are local parishes, headed by a pastor, appointed by the local bishop. The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States meets semi-annually.
As part of a global organization with its institutional center at the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America is shaped by worldwide societal and cultural trends. It is further shaped by leadership that is entirely male, with w