Is It Okay to Attend a Same-Sex Wedding Reception? What a Priest Said When He Was Asked This Question

[mdgspencer]

see rcspirituality.org/ask-a-priest-may-i-attend-a-same-sex-wedding-reception/
This certainly is the kind of question Catholics have when someone they know is involved in a same-sex union.

 

[MikeWest]

if I received an invitation, I would not reply.

I certainly would never attend something of that nature.

However, I would be silent on the issue.

Anything you say will be used against you.

 

[joeybaggz]

If Christ said he came to the sinners, (“for a healthy person does not need a doctor”), why is it that we as followers of Christ, shun the sinner; slam the door of charity and love in their face?

The example in the link is of a 19 year old girl questioning going to her 19 year old lesbian friend’s wedding reception. I agree not going to the ceremony is appropriate given that it could be construed as acceptance or validation of SSM. But assuming the young woman posing the question is, and wants to remain, friends with her life long friend, I question Father’s response from a standpoint of charity and concern for the spiritual health of the young woman marrying.

The Church position from in the catechism section on homosexuality states something interesting. “The psychological genesis is largely unexplained.” The church is condemning homosexuality yet at the same time saying it doesn’t understand the underlying psychological reasons. (and possibly physical - is homosexuality as inherent to a person as race, hair color, shape of eyes, and other physiological imperatives?) Add to that, science and medicine’s growing understanding that the human brain does not fully develop until the mid-20’s (and the portion that does not controls impulse, judgment, and behavior) and I think one has to ask whether in 10 years the young woman who now calls herself a lesbian might have a different understanding of her sexuality. And I have to ask if being shunned and abandoned by her life long friends would be beneficial, especially at a time when a lifelong friend who is Catholic and believes in what the Church teaches about human sexuality and forgiveness and acceptance by the Lord, is exactly what that young woman needs if and when she matures and comes to her senses.

Lifelong friends can disagree, have different moral and ethical viewpoints, and still remain friends. I wonder,would shunning a friend when they do something we don’t agree with make us like the Priest and the Levite in Luke 10:30-32?

Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the sinners, shouldn’t we? After all he ate with them, he didn’t become one of them.

Shalom

 

[dmar198]

mdgspencer;14551831:

If Christ said he came to the sinners, (“for a healthy person does not need a doctor”), why is it that we as followers of Christ, shun the sinner; slam the door of charity and love in their face?

The example in the link is of a 19 year old girl questioning going to her 19 year old lesbian friend’s wedding reception. I agree not going to the ceremony is appropriate given that it could be construed as acceptance or validation of SSM. But assuming the young woman posing the question is, and wants to remain, friends with her life long friend, I question Father’s response from a standpoint of charity and concern for the spiritual health of the young woman marrying.

The Church position from in the catechism section on homosexuality states something interesting. “The psychological genesis is largely unexplained.” The church is condemning homosexuality yet at the same time saying it doesn’t understand the underlying psychological reasons. (and possibly physical - is homosexuality as inherent to a person as race, hair color, shape of eyes, and other physiological imperatives?) Add to that, science and medicine’s growing understanding that the human brain does not fully develop until the mid-20’s (and the portion that does not controls impulse, judgment, and behavior) and I think one has to ask whether in 10 years the young woman who now calls herself a lesbian might have a different understanding of her sexuality. And I have to ask if being shunned and abandoned by her life long friends would be beneficial, especially at a time when a lifelong friend who is Catholic and believes in what the Church teaches about human sexuality and forgiveness and acceptance by the Lord, is exactly what that young woman needs if and when she matures and comes to her senses.

Lifelong friends can disagree, have different moral and ethical viewpoints, and still remain friends. I wonder,would shunning a friend when they do something we don’t agree with make us like the Priest and the Levite in Luke 10:30-32?

Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the sinners, shouldn’t we? After all he ate with them, he didn’t become one of them.

Shalom

The priest didn’t say never to eat with her friend, just not to celebrate her ceremony. A reception is not just eating, it’s also celebrating a ceremony. There will be other times to eat with her in a non-celebratory way.

Also, there is a place in Catholicism for shunning people sometimes. 2 Thess. 3:6, 2 Thess. 3:14-15, 2 John 1:10-11, and Romans 16:17 all mention this.

 

[jediliz]

It was easy for me to say no thanks to an invite I received. I cared about my soul over the feelings of the person.

 

[Fiasco]

Lifelong friends can disagree, have different moral and ethical viewpoints, and still remain friends. I wonder,would shunning a friend when they do something we don’t agree with make us like the Priest and the Levite in Luke 10:30-32?

Violating the Sixth Commandment is deadly, and appearing to condone it is sinful as well.

Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the sinners, shouldn’t we? After all he ate with them, he didn’t become one of them.

Shalom

He ate with them with the intention of CONVERTING them, not to “celebrate” and “confirm” their sinfulness.

 

[James248]

Let me weigh in:

Suppose you attend the reception and a guy who is Catholic sees this. He will assume that it is okay to go to those type of weddings, and thus he will break faith with God.

Do you really want to do something that will lead your brother astray?

 

[DignumEtJustum]

No it is certainly NOT okay. Any “Catholic” with the opinion that it is need reexamine their beliefs and realize the purpose of the whole thing is to get to heaven, something not possible for those who die in the state of being in a “gay marriage.”

 

[ShrodingersCat]

No it is certainly NOT okay. Any “Catholic” with the opinion that it is need reexamine their beliefs and realize the purpose of the whole thing is to get to heaven, something not possible for those who die in the state of being in a “gay marriage.”

Actually you can’t say that at all. It’s God’s job to judge each soul individually and grave matter requires full knowledge and consent to be a mortal sin. Perfect contrition at time of death or last rites with a good confession could also occur.

 

[DignumEtJustum]

Actually you can’t say that at all. It’s God’s job to judge each soul individually and grave matter requires full knowledge and consent to be a mortal sin. Perfect contrition at time of death or last rites with a good confession could also occur.

So you’re describing those who did not die in the state of being part of a “gay marriage” … therefore it is acceptable to attend a “gay wedding?” Nonsense.

 

[GEddie]

Use your own judgement.

This may, or may not be a deal breaker for a friendship. It also may or may not be a “source of scandal.”

Only those “on the ground” can say for sure.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Memaw]

mdgspencer;14551831:

If Christ said he came to the sinners, (“for a healthy person does not need a doctor”), why is it that we as followers of Christ, shun the sinner; slam the door of charity and love in their face?

The example in the link is of a 19 year old girl questioning going to her 19 year old lesbian friend’s wedding reception. I agree not going to the ceremony is appropriate given that it could be construed as acceptance or validation of SSM. But assuming the young woman posing the question is, and wants to remain, friends with her life long friend, I question Father’s response from a standpoint of charity and concern for the spiritual health of the young woman marrying.

The Church position from in the catechism section on homosexuality states something interesting. “The psychological genesis is largely unexplained.” The church is condemning homosexuality yet at the same time saying it doesn’t understand the underlying psychological reasons. (and possibly physical - is homosexuality as inherent to a person as race, hair color, shape of eyes, and other physiological imperatives?) Add to that, science and medicine’s growing understanding that the human brain does not fully develop until the mid-20’s (and the portion that does not controls impulse, judgment, and behavior) and I think one has to ask whether in 10 years the young woman who now calls herself a lesbian might have a different understanding of her sexuality. And I have to ask if being shunned and abandoned by her life long friends would be beneficial, especially at a time when a lifelong friend who is Catholic and believes in what the Church teaches about human sexuality and forgiveness and acceptance by the Lord, is exactly what that young woman needs if and when she matures and comes to her senses.

Lifelong friends can disagree, have different moral and ethical viewpoints, and still remain friends. I wonder,would shunning a friend when they do something we don’t agree with make us like the Priest and the Levite in Luke 10:30-32?

Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the sinners, shouldn’t we? After all he ate with them, he didn’t become one of them.

Shalom

It’s not shunning the friend but “shunning the sin”. Love the sinner but hate the sin. My family knows already that I will NOT GO AGAINST Church teaching for any reason, so if they choose to get married out of the Catholic Church, I will NOT be there. The choice is theirs not mine. I cannot condone something harmful to ones I love. That does NOT mean I don’t love them, or love them any less. When you see someone hurting themselves, you love them all the more and pray all the more!!! Remember when Jesus forgave someone HE told them to “GO AND SIN NO MORE!!!” Luke 10; 30-32 is about someone who is hurt, not actively sinning. Big difference!!! God Bless, Memaw