I don't believe being gay is a sin, how does that affect me within the Catholic community?

[KymmD77]

I cannot bring myself to accept that being gay is horrible, immoral, sinful act. We can disapprove the gay lifestyle, but really, who are we to judge?
I have been seeking answers as to where it states in the Bible that “being gay” is wrong. I understand the act of sodomy is sinful, and that a “man shall not lay with another man”, but there are soooooo many sins that are committed by everyone everyday. Leviticus in particular lists many things that Christians would’t give a second thought to. Such as cutting their hair at the edges, not planting a field with two different seeds, don’t put tattoos on your body. Yet I see MANY men with well maintained hair cut at the edges, many gardens planted with all sorts of seed, and many people with tattoos, even some that are intended to “honor the Lord”, should these people be cast out of society and branded as sinners in the same manor as the gay community? You have the choice to sin by eating a rare bloody steak, yet they do not have a choice in their true feelings.
Why this particular sin? Why is it made to be such a big deal?
I have had many gay friends throughout my life and I KNOW that their “gayness” is not by choice. I have had friends commit suicide because they believe they can never live up to God’s standards as a result of their innate emotions.
The lifestyle may be something that we don’t condone, but who are WE to place judgement on them??? God wants us to “love thy neighbor” he wants us to love all his children. Gay people are also His children.
I am not referring to those who “experiment with bisexuality” or those who take part in gay relations as a means of self gratification. I speak of those who are truly gay, in their heart of hearts, and cannot change this fact no matter how hard they try. “Gay” cannot be fixed. It cannot be cured. If it could be, why would so many of them exist? Why would so many rather die than be who they are?
I cannot bring myself to “hate” someone for being gay or relate it to those who actually break the laws of the Ten Commandments knowingly and often. Is being gay a true and factual biblical statement, not open to our own interpretation? Please tell me where I can find this in the scripture, in the Lords own words that absolutely condemns them as much as a murderer or rapist or adulterer? As I feel this is the standard the Christian community seems to compare them to.
Are we truly honoring the God that made Man or the God that Man made?
I will not judge. I will love my neighbor. We are all God’s children. Or can someone truly prove to me that God clearly states condemnation of a mans true love of another man???

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

The Church does not have a teaching on what causes the homosexual orientation. That is a scientific question and not a theological one.

The Church does not teach that attractions or innate desires are sinful, it’s what we do with them that can be sinful. We all have attractions or desires towards things that are sinful (that’s the result of original sin) but those feelings aren’t sins because we don’t choose them. What is sinful is acting on our attractions to sin.

I’m not sure why you think the Church teaches that we should hate people with a homosexual orientation. The Catechism says exactly the opposite (emphasis added):

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

1. It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.

For further reading: USCCB’s Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care