iamrefreshed:
I’m not sure if I reading this right but this website seems to state that there are Catholic churches that condone homosexuality. I came upon this site while trying to find the website of a nearby church I’ve never been to.
When I first moved to a large southern city that had a large homosexual population (no need to mention the name of the city, although just the reference may make it obvious to many) I settled into a parish that was decidedly ‘gay friendly’ - I would make a guess that at any Sunday Mass at least 50% of the congregation were male and female couples. The church was also well known for a lay ministry to HIV+ and AIDS patients and, as you might imagine, in the time that I was in the parish (I left for a more traditional church although it was further from my home) I never heard a homily, or a letter from the bishop read, that even mentioned homosexuality. I was not chagrinned by the presence of homosexuals but I was uncomfortable with the almost explicit blessing of homosexuals who were obviously in relationships (I simply could not assume that men and women who displayed ‘acceptable’ public affection did not engage in sexual acts with one another) and who, Sunday after Sunday, received the Eucharist from priests who, I assume, did not deny communion to those whom he surely knew were not in any state to receive the Eucharist.
I am sure that wherever there are large concentration of homosexuals living there will be churches which are “gay friendly”. Including Catholic churches. I have mixed feelings about judging the pastors and the bishops who foster such parishes - I don’t believe that homosexuals who continue in sexual sin should be allowed (or even, no matter how ‘pastoral’ it may seem, encouraged) to partake of the Eucharist (and I feel the same about
anyone who persists in sin - those who were sacramentally married, divorced, and remarried, for example). The answer, it seems to me, is a direct communique from the Ordinary spelling out guidelines which
must be obeyed. If a priest is genuinely ignorant of the sexual activity of a parishioner, he cannot be blamed - but when those parishioners who persist in mortal sin are public in their sin
and public in coming forward for communion I think the best that a priest or deacon can do is offer a short blessing but deny communion.
And, yes, that church is listed on the ‘gay friendly’ website but the mission statement of the church - providing for “diverse Christians”
and the fact that they now have a “LGBT Bible Study” leads me to suspect that no one would be surprised to find the church listed as ‘gay friendly’.
Ben
