Homosexuality: A Disorder or Not?

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In 1973, American Psychiatrists Association removed HOMOSEXUALITY from their official list of "Mental disorders’. Should Catholics view it as a disorder or a normal mental condition??

I invite all those who who have got medical degrees of this forum among others too to view their opinions regarding this!
 
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Ransri said:
Should Catholics view it as a disorder or a normal mental condition??
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Neither.

Stammering was viewed as a mental disorder years ago!!! I think homosexuality is genetic, God gives us the free will to either practice it or not.
 
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To provide a non-medical perspective:

The Church does declare that homosexuality, whether the inclination towards or act of sex between two men and two women, is seen as disordered (CCC 2357-2358). However, this isn’t exclusive to homosexuality. For instance, here is the CCC entry on the Sixth Commandment (Seventh for Protestants). If you Ctrl-F “disorder”, you’ll get it three times before even reaching homosexuality (twice for lust, once for masturbation) and twice after (both for divorce). I think CCC 2351 best describes why all of this is disordered:
2351 Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes.
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In other words, we judge based on how God originally intended our sexuality to be - loving, unitive, and procreative. We can also include “between man and woman” given Jesus’ comment in Matthew 19:4-5 and Paul’s discussion on marriage in Ephesians 5:21-33, with particular emphasis on verses 31-32.

Anything that violates this is considered disordered. This includes masturbation, contraception, lust, adultery, etc. And yes, it also includes homosexuality. But in all cases, our job as Catholics remains the same: Call people to a higher standard, love them whether they live up to it or not.
 
The RCC’s “definition” of homosexuality as to its practice contains an interesting statement. “The psychological genesis is largely unexplained.” The Church itself says it doesn’t understand it origin within a person and therefore leaves open future engagement with the concept.
As others have said, I think there is a physiological component, though not necessarily a gene that compels a person. Hopefully, future discoveries will clarify. However, no one in the homosexual community wants a homosexual gene to be discovered. If one was, there would be no more homosexuals in about 80 to 100 years.
As to disordered. That is a word the RCC uses and is probably the kindest description from the vantage point that homosexuality is not a natural occurrence. It is outside the established order of male-female orientation as ordered by God in creation. Better than deviant, pervert, or aberrant.
 
joeybaggz said:
The Church itself says it doesn’t understand it origin within a person and therefore leaves open future engagement with the concept.
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I also think it is also worth noting that this statement makes it clear that the Church is not making a medical or psychological statement and, as such, is not going to change its understanding as we gain greater knowledge in these areas. Instead, it is dealing with philosophy and theology.
 
Of course it is a disorder. It is against the natural order. The problem itself may be physical, mental, spiritual or some combination. The classification of the APA is very political.
 
Where 'O where can one go on CAF to escape homosexual threads?
 
Yes, it’s a disorder. I mean, look at what they do! Duh. It’s not normal for a man to want to do nasty things with another man instead of a woman. It’s against the natural order, like @exnihilo said. A lot of it is learned behavior. I put it in the same category as severe fetishes.
 
BlueMaxx said:
Where 'O where can one go on CAF to escape homosexual threads?
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Yeah, and why is this posted in Casual Discussion? It’s not my idea of casual discussion. If I saw my neighbor walking down the street, I would talk about the weather. That’s my idea of casual discussion. Sports too, that would be casual discussion. So how would it go if I asked my neighbor “Is homosexuality a mental disorder?” Not casual discussion.

I’m going to put this in Philosophy.
 
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Thank you. I was just about to move it myself.

Though I would have picked moral theology.
 
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After a look at some other science threads it seems like that it is the place to put them.
 
And to answer the OP’s question…homosexual feelings are disordered. The person himself is a child of God, and if he was born with those feelings, then we don’t know why, except that it is his cross to bear in life.

Some people are born with mental disorders or genetic disorders. We don’t know why, but we seek to help and alleviate suffering as much as we can.

Everyone has a cross to bear and we must all struggle with carrying the burden that has been given to us, as well as trying to help carry each other’s burdens the best we can.

Thankfully, we had Someone go before us to show the way! And His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
 
The Catholic view of ‘ordered’ and ‘disordered’ is based on the Catholic belief in natural law. Natural law is a philosophic position and cannot be demonstrated by science. Homosexuality is observed in a huge range of living things and most especially in our closest living relatives, bonobos and chimps. If it us ‘unnatural’ then it needs to be explained how it occurs naturally.
 
Anne Heche. Did her DNA change? Then change back?

Other than that, this thread is a minefield.
 
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I think it depends how one defines a “disorder”.

The DSM has a diagnosis of adjustment disorder. So if you are grieving for a relative’s death you may qualify for having a disorder.
 
Do you call the following disorders?

Overweight
Gray hair
Myopia
Vegetarianism

I’m happy to call homosexuality a disorder. But I use it in such a way that the conditions I mentioned above are also disorders. None of these conditions are healthy for the human race.

Whereas some gay lobbyist puts homosexual in same category as height, eye colour. I disagreee with this view. I think it belongs in the category I cited above with myopia etc. but I also don’t think it is the same category as eg schizophrenia, or ADHD or bipolar disorder.
 
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