How should we deal with the Homosexual dilemma?

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There is only a “dilemma” if one makes it one. There doesn’t have to be any dilemma at all, regarding homosexuals. Everyone sins. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The only way to deal with sin is to *look at your own *and *go to Confession. *Leave other peoples’ sins alone, as they are none of your business, unless of course, you have never sinned…or will never sin again…
 
Seeks God:
Wow! Now that was a compelling argument! I thought about it in a different way, though the ‘jury is still out’ for me: Since a priest’s relationship to his parish is supposed to represent the relationship Jesus has with His Church, then a priest is supposed to fulfill a fatherly/husbandly (as if those are words) role. A homosexual male can NEVER experience that same role, therefore cannot be a priest. What I wonder about, however, is the role of vocation in the homosexual’s life. It is obvious they can never marry, so doesn’t it only folloow that they can have the vocation of Holy Orders?

I just can not accept a notion that they are doomed to hell, before they get the chance for salvation. It seems to violate God’s very plan for humanity…
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Why is “not entering Holy Order” equated to “be doomed in hell”? :confused:
 
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NightRider:
There is only a “dilemma” if one makes it one. There doesn’t have to be any dilemma at all, regarding homosexuals. Everyone sins. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The only way to deal with sin is to *look at your own *and *go to Confession. *Leave other peoples’ sins alone, as they are none of your business, unless of course, you have never sinned…or will never sin again…
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**Dear NightRider,

What about admonishing the sinner, one of the seven Chief Spiritual Works of Mercy?
From “My Catholic Faith” by Most Reverend Louis Laravoire Morrow
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  1. To admonish the sinner.
Whenever we think our words may have a good effect, ***we should not hesitate to admonish the erring prudently. *** Those in authority, such as parents and teachers, are bound to admonish those under their faults, even if in doing so they bring trouble upon themselves. ***Good example is another way of admonition.
In admonishing, we must do so with gentleness and charity. Otherwise we might only produce results the opposite of what we wish. It would be wrong, if with a little trouble we could save a sinner from sin, did we not speak to save him; it would, moreover, be a loss of great grace for ourselves. "He who causes a sinner to be brought back from his misguided way, will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20)
**
 
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mrS4ntA:
Why is “not entering Holy Order” equated to “be doomed in hell”? :confused:
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you have to follow the entire discussion…this was not my point, I was correlating the two situations, however. I was playing an advocate against some of OtherEric’s areguments. However, I do bleive that everyone needs to have equal access to receiving the Sacraments. I’m not sure how I feel about homosexuals (and I mean those who are not engaged in sinful acts) answering a call to become a priest…
 
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NightRider:
There is only a “dilemma” if one makes it one. There doesn’t have to be any dilemma at all, regarding homosexuals. Everyone sins. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The only way to deal with sin is to *look at your own *and *go to Confession. *Leave other peoples’ sins alone, as they are none of your business, unless of course, you have never sinned…or will never sin again…
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Do you understand my reasoning? Her is a recap:
  1. Two men publically declare that they are in a homosexual relationship (which means intimate relations).
  2. It is a mortal sin according the Catholic teaching to commit a homosexual act.
  3. Mortal sin leds to eternal death according to Catholic teaching regarding sin.
  4. We as Christ’s followers are called to spread the Good News that He has conquered sin and death. We are to tell the world that sin need no longer reign in their lives, and they do not have to die eternally.
  5. These men are dying eternally by willfully committing homosexual acts and need to be warned of the consequences of their actions, before it is too late.
  6. By not telling them of their danger we are willfully allowing them to die in their sins and suffer eternally.
  7. Therefore, we must do all in our power (in love) to help them avoid what the Church says awaits those who die in their sins. For, is not love desiring the utmost best for the sake of the beloved?
Is doing our utmost for the sake of the beloved allowing them to die in their sin?

Would you let your child die in a house fire in order to let he get her sleep (because you know how grumpy she gets when you wake her up)?

Is what you are doing truely loving someone if it ends in their own condemnation?

We are all sinners and in need of forgiveness, but this does not make our sin ok. It makes our sin an enemy to be conquered.

Peace
 
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NightRider:
There is only a “dilemma” if one makes it one. There doesn’t have to be any dilemma at all, regarding homosexuals. Everyone sins. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” The only way to deal with sin is to *look at your own *and *go to Confession. *Leave other peoples’ sins alone, as they are none of your business, unless of course, you have never sinned…or will never sin again…
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Yes, I am a sinner, a big one too. but what about when my children or my husband sins, Am I to ignore their sins and just mind my own business and go to confession? Are my childrens sins none of my business. Gee, I have too many sins of my own, I have no right to correct them in their sins to heck with their sins I have my own to worry about for goodness sakes. Am I not worthy enough to correct my children when they make soul damaging mistakes? Okay, I’m done with the sarcasm.

Are you saying it is never okay to admonish the sinner? What would you do if you had a friend who was a heroin addict would you say to yourself “I really love and care about my friend and I’m worried that they are going to kill himself one of these days but I don’t dare tell him to get help through rehab because I’m too big of sinner myself, I have no right to call him a sinner when I have too many sins of my own” ? Are we not worthy enough to admonish someone elses sin if we have sins of our own?(Sorry about the neverending sentence)
 
There is no dilemma. Church teaching is clear no homosexuality, and homosexual acts. They don’t need to be fixed or even reconsidered.

We must admonish the sinner, but that doesn’t mean judge them or pray for their condemnation. If you tell a sinner “you are going to go to hell if you keep doing that” then I think it sounds like this to God, “blah blah go to hell blah blah” and therefore becomes a prayer. Why does it sound that way to God? Because that’s what is in your heart. If it wasn’t it wouldn’t have come out this way in any way, shape, matter or form.
1 Cor 9:19-23:
Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law–though I myself am not under the law–to win over those under the law. To those outside the law I became like one outside the law–though I am not outside God’s law but within the law of Christ–to win over those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
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Alan
 
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AlanFromWichita:
There is no dilemma. Church teaching is clear no homosexuality, and homosexual acts. …
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It’s true that the Church teaches that homosexual acts are sins. But she never teaches homosexuality (i.e. same-sex attraction) is.

That’s like saying Jesus sinned when the Devil tempted Him to test God (change rocks into bread, jumping from a high place) and worship him.

We humans are constantly tempted by the world, the flesh or the devil. But that doesn’t make us sinners. Acting upon those temptaions is the sin.

Sin is an act. An act of turning away from God, but an act nonetheless.
 
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mrS4ntA:
It’s true that the Church teaches that homosexual acts are sins. But she never teaches homosexuality (i.e. same-sex attraction) is.

That’s like saying Jesus sinned when the Devil tempted Him to test God (change rocks into bread, jumping from a high place) and worship him.
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That’s exactly right, and a good analogy IMO.
We humans are constantly tempted by the world, the flesh or the devil. But that doesn’t make us sinners. Acting upon those temptaions is the sin.
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Sin is an act. An act of turning away from God, but an act nonetheless.
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That’s true too, but that act can be mental just as well as physical.

At some point Jesus told satan to be gone. As I’m sure you’ll agree, Jesus did not accept the temptation as a “normal” way of life, nor did He allow his mind to dwell on it.

Alan
 
I think some on this thread are misunderstanding my point.

I am not saying that we should not love those who sin, but what does that love entail?

We have all heard the phrase: “love the sinner, hate the sin,” but what does this mean?

To some here it seems to mean: “love the sinner, ignore the sin.” But is ignoring the sin truly loving the sinner, if by doing so you allow that sinner to perish?

Remember love is desiring the utmost best for the sake of the beloved.

Peace
 
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