The belief that a god would create or permit the creation of homosexuals and then condemn them for forming loving, intimate relationships with each other is incongruent with Our Father, who is love itself, Jesus who is the divine mercy of God, and the Holy Spirit who is the giver of life. Scripture cannot be interpreted in a way which denies who God is. Therefore, many Catholics, including myself, look to reconcile the truth of Scripture with the truth of its writer.
In Mistici Corporus Christi, written by Pope Pius XII in 1943, paragraphs 29 and 30, he declared that the Old Testament law was completed by Jesus and not binding on Christians. In fact, he used some of the same NT quotes that I have used in other postings. Therefore, we must look to the NT for guidance.
There is every reason to believe that any of St. Paul’s exhortations against homosexual behavior were directed towards heterosexuals who engaged in homosexual behavior simply to satisfy their lusts. Even in Sodom, Lot offered his daughters to the those who desired to rape the men, indicating that the rapists were capable of enjoying relations with the opposite sex, i.e., they had a choice. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was acceptable for heterosexuals to engage in homosexual behavior simply to satisfy their lusts.
Please note that Jesus Himself did not even address the issue. His concern was that the sanctity of marriage be preserved, i.e., divorce and adultery are not acceptable.
While a homosexual man or woman may, under certain circumstances, be able to perform sexually with someone of the opposite sex, it is unnatural for them to do so. True gay men and women are spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically able to form the kind of intimate relationships that heterosexuals enjoy ONLY with members of their own sex. It is not a choice for them; it is simply the way they are.
Therefore, it is not unreasonable to conclude that God did not intend homosexual prohibitions to extend to homosexual beings but, rather, only to heterosexual beings. Many Catholic lay and religious believe this. I am not the only one by any means.
But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you are totally correct regarding the letter of the law, either one, OT or NT. Then why did Jesus condemn the Pharisees? Firstly, because they did not follow the law themselves, but secondly because they used the law, in the name of God, to oppress people. They had no understanding of what some call “the heart of the law,” which is God’s love, His understanding, His mercy and compassion.
St. Paul says that if you break one tiny letter of the law, you are guilty of violating the entire law. If you do not honor your mother, for example, you are also therefore guilty of adultery, stealing, lying, taking the name of God in vain, etc. He also said that following the law will not save you. In fact, he called the OT law a curse and thanked God that Jesus freed him from that curse.
Jesus said we will be measured in the same way we measure others. I choose to measure homosexuals with compassion, dignity, mercy and love. I treat them as I would like to be treated, as Jesus told us to do.
You people deny that you hate homosexuals. Well, I can think of no better way to hate someone than to deny one dignity, acceptance and those inalienable human rights granted by God which include the right to love, be loved and share intimate love with another human being.
In time, I believe our Holy Church will once and for all believe similarly and grant homosexuals the right to marry. I may not see it in my lifetime, but I believe it will happen in God’s own time. One thing I do trust is the RCC. It’s not completely free from the errors of men, but at least in the past it has been willing to make change when the Holy Spirit inspired it to do so (and for that matter, when science proved its errors; Galileo was right, remember?)
So you people continue to stick to the letter of the law and continue to oppress anyone you can with the letter of the law. In my opinion, you are the “whited sepulchres” of the modern age, and Jesus will judge you as you have judged homosexuals.
In the meantime, I will continue to believe that Jesus will judge me by how much love, mercy, understanding, compassion and aide I was willing to give to all my brothers (and sisters) on earth, particularly the least of these. May he give me the strength to do this; some people are so very hard to love. I will pray for you all; pray for me too.
, not the other way around, although I can think of a couple of men who would tell me otherwise, but only on an individual, not general, basis.
