Hey archangel04,
I just wanted to say I’m encouraged by your openness to the posters, especially the first one who provided the link to narth (
narth.com/docs/hope.html). I myself struggle with homosexuality and I know NARTH to be an excellent and accurate resource. I would just like to give you some advice if I could. Depending on the size of your class, there’s a good chance that at least one, maybe two kids are struggling with homosexuality. Virtually all of them at some point will have a close friend or member of their extended or even immediate family who will identify themselves as gay. Believe me, I’ve been in their shoes, it is one of the most humiliating and shaming places to be. I know you have to make sure your class understands that homosexual behavior is wrong, but I would just encourage you to emphasize that god loves homosexuals just as much as anybody else and that the behavior is wrong and not the attractions. If you read the material on that site in general as well, you will find a compelling argument that homosexuality is a psychological condition. A brief summary goes as such: around 2-3 years of age a boy begins to realize the difference between boys and girls and that he belongs to the same group as his dad. He then reaches out to his dad to make this connection to masculinity, to be affirmed in his own masculinity, to be told he is up to the task, he is strong and sufficient enough. In the case of the homosexual, the father does not properly respond back to the boys outreach and is instead perceived as cold, distant, weak, domineering, violent, dangerous, etc. The boy may try reaching out a few more times but eventually he gives up and enters into what is known as defensive detachment where he rejects his father and everything he represents. His need for masculine affirmation and affection does not go away however, but is a subconscious drive that remains until puberty where it then collides with the sex drive, resulting in homosexuality. For girls it’s a bit more complicated, but there are similar issues of problems with the mother, difficulty identifying with their gender, and also frequently sex abuse issues. I know this may seem a bit heady for 8-9th graders but I can’t emphasize enough how profound that message was to me when I first heard it. If we as Catholics speak out against the immorality of homosexual acts without providing for homosexuals the love of Christ and the hope he has to offer I think we are doing far more grievous acts of sin than the homosexual in his misdirected search for affirmation. And in truth, your class might not have anyone personally struggling with this issue and it’s still important that you mention this real hope and Christ’s love because they will, at some point in their lives, be examples of Christ to homosexuals, whether they know it or not, and if they demonstrate love and compassion then God can work with the softened heart of the homosexual. Again, I think this discussion is great and thanks for what your doing. God bless!
