Ministry to Gay and Lesbian Catholics?!?

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estesbob said:
As Catholics we are called to witness the Truth to all. I dont know if that consitutes “helping God” in your opinion or not.
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Just use your own opinion about helping God. Does God need our help?
 
****Obviously what we have here is a group of individuals, who want to justify their evil behavior and in so doing will question what the Church teaches and has always taught. You need to read the Catechism. Check in to buying Baltimore Catechism #3, Quest for Happiness is also a young adults catechism and should be read to understand what the Church teaches and what she has always taught. Fornication falls under the 6th Commandment. Indeed it does and always has. It is mentioned in both the Old and the New Testament. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of the sin of Homosexuality. Read about it in the Old Testament. Lot and his family were the only just people which God could find to spare, so they were allowed to leave before the great destruction. The same will be our lot if we condone that sin, which is why it is called “a sin which cries to heaven for vengeance.”
Nothing too deep to understand here. Lots of Liberal Catholic priests pushing the homosexual agenda because they too are homosexual, unfortunately for many Catholics who look to the Church for their instruction. Which is why I am a Traditional Catholic. It is as simple as that.
 
estesbob said:
As Catholics we are called to witness the Truth to all. I dont know if that consitutes “helping God” in your opinion or not.
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Just use your own opinion about helping God. Does God need our help? “Help” is pretty straight forward.
 
Carol_Susanna said:
****Obviously what we have here is a group of individuals, who want to justify their evil behavior and in so doing will question what the Church teaches and has always taught. You need to read the Catechism. Check in to buying Baltimore Catechism #3, Quest for Happiness is also a young adults catechism and should be read to understand what the Church teaches and what she has always taught. Fornication falls under the 6th Commandment. Indeed it does and always has. It is mentioned in both the Old and the New Testament. Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because of the sin of Homosexuality. Read about it in the Old Testament. Lot and his family were the only just people which God could find to spare, so they were allowed to leave before the great destruction. The same will be our lot if we condone that sin, which is why it is called “a sin which cries to heaven for vengeance.”
Nothing too deep to understand here. Lots of Liberal Catholic priests pushing the homosexual agenda because they too are homosexual, unfortunately for many Catholics who look to the Church for their instruction. Which is why I am a Traditional Catholic. It is as simple as that.
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Lot was the just man?

He wanted to throw his young daughters to the crowd of mad rapists. Should we follow the example of this just man? It seems like folks pick and choose from that story to support their positions.
 
HoppityRedux said:
Lot was the just man?

He wanted to throw his young daughters to the crowd of mad rapists. Should we follow the example of this just man? It seems like folks pick and choose from that story to support their positions.
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“Just man” does not mean perfect man, otherwise we would not need a Savior. Only Jesus is perfect. You are guilty of trying to refute the meaning and essence of the story by focusing on the mistake made by the just man Lot. God still honored Lot and destroyed the sodomite evildoers.
That night the men of Sodom revealed their degradation by attacking Lot’s house and demanding his two guests for their vile purpose (4, 5). Lot interceded in behalf of his guests in accordance with his duties as host, which are most sacred in the East, **but made the mistake of placing them above his duties as a father by offering his two daughters to the wicked designs of the Sodomites **(6-8). The latter, however, refused the substitution, and just as they were about to inflict violence upon Lot the two angels intervened, drawing Lot into the house and striking the men outside with blindness, thus preventing them from finding the door of the house (9-11).
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newadvent.org/cathen/09366a.htm
 
setter said:
“Just man” does not mean perfect man, otherwise we would not need a Savior. Only Jesus is perfect. You are guilty of trying to refute the meaning and essence of the story by focusing on the mistake made by the just man Lot. God still honored Lot and destroyed the sodomite evildoers.

newadvent.org/cathen/09366a.htm
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What does “just man” mean?

It appears folks focus on whatever part of the story helps their argument, and ignore those that don’t. They tend to do that with lots of things.
 
We have some posters among us whose goal is to derail threads and consistently provoke us to discuss the morality of homosexual acts. I suggest we not take the bait.

Back to the OP: If it were my Parish, I would probably want to learn more about the basis and framework for the ministry. I must admit that the vocabulary of “gay and lesbian” makes me sit up and take notice. These are the words chosen and used by a secular culture and a community with an agenda. I believe that when the Church speaks on these issues, she usually refers to “homosexuality” and does not confuse her language with that of society.
 
HoppityRedux said:
How do you know?
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Well, that’s hard to answer quickly. I would say I had a series of personal emcounters with God, which over time led me to scripture, and later the catholic church. As I dug deeper into scripture and the teachings of the church, I found confirmation both in my natural reasons as well as what I would call divine promptings. In other words, I found the argument that scripture is the word of God persuasive and I found that the authority of the church is a necessary component to living out what is in scripture. But more important than the intellectual conviction, I would receive periodic confirmations by the Holy Spirit that I was moving on the right track.

I realize that this is more subjective than other posters would like, but it’s the truth. And it’s the short way I can think to say, “for the bible tells me so.” 🙂

Kendy
 
HoppityRedux said:
How do you know?
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I can answer in how I know.

From Scripture: "This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thess. 4:3)

For a good thing will spread its effect, to “spread abroad their own good amongst others, so far as possible” (St. Thomas Aquinas). And so the best thing, God, being infinitely good, would will good in all other things, especially in better things, and so especially in the pinnacle of creation: Man. So God wills that man do good, for God is good.

But as God’s will is good, and He enacts this will with love, our love in doing good things cooperates with God. So if God wills our good, and we cooperate with God in doing good, then God wills that we cooperate with Him.

An aspect of this cooperation is helping God’s work. Not because He needs it, but because He desires it, such that it would not be fitting for God to desire else for us than good.
esire else for us than good.
 
blessedtoo said:
Back to the OP: If it were my Parish, I would probably want to learn more about the basis and framework for the ministry. I must admit that the vocabulary of “gay and lesbian” makes me sit up and take notice. These are the words chosen and used by a secular culture and a community with an agenda. I believe that when the Church speaks on these issues, she usually refers to “homosexuality” and does not confuse her language with that of society.
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I would add that any official ministry of the church, such as the prison ministry, exists to bring people to the true and deeper faith and understanding of Christ so that they may–using the example of prisoners–change their ways. The fact that anything, meetings, tree-lighting cerimonies, whatever, are being held at the home of two gay men, tells me that any priest faithful to church teaching would not approve. It’s one thing to go to the home to minister to them, holding celebrations for the ministry at the home is quiet another.

I would go and speak with the priest. If the ministry is not approved by your bishop, then it shouldn’t be advertised in the bulliten.
 
Imagine23 said:
Why do you all get worked up about what consenting adults do with themselves? With all the suffering and awful things in the world, is God really that petty to care about what two same sex consenting adults do with each other?
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You should know if you are a Catholic and /or a Christian. You should read your Bible it seems.
Who gave the institute of Marrage
Why?
Do you know any spirits that drive a person to homosexual tendancies?
Do you know the difference between love and lust
Do youknow how these spirits can cause marrage break up and cause children to be traumatised through these spirits.
In love in marrage there is a unity that causes two people to want the best for each other where children are usually the out come.
It takes a man and a woman to create a child, then how can homosexual behaviour be the common agender in God’s eyes?
You may say if they have infertilisation then it doesn’t take sexual cupulation. But it does for where does the sperm come from. So homosexual rlationships is NOT a Godly relationship
In relating how you say is acceptable, tell me how much love goes to God with your thoughts.
You don’t seem to realise that all this sexualness away from marrage is caused through people listening to satin NOT God.

This may seem strange but I have a friend who is homosexual???
Jesus said to be with them but NOT as them to love not to judge so I do just that.
 
marci said:
I would add that any official ministry of the church, such as the prison ministry, exists to bring people to the true and deeper faith and understanding of Christ so that they may–using the example of prisoners–change their ways. The fact that anything, meetings, tree-lighting cerimonies, whatever, are being held at the home of two gay men, tells me that any priest faithful to church teaching would not approve. It’s one thing to go to the home to minister to them, holding celebrations for the ministry at the home is quiet another.

I would go and speak with the priest. If the ministry is not approved by your bishop, then it shouldn’t be advertised in the bulliten.
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But do you want to chase them out of the Church? It’s possible that the outreach they’re participating in is keeping them in the Church. How do you know that Mr. Whosit and Mr. Whatzit are actually participating in gay acts (the only thing sinful about their situation)? Gay couples do not sin when they wash the dishes, parent their children, watch TV or do any of the other hundreds of things that straight couples do in a day.

Not all gay people are in a state where they can say OK, I’ll just live a celibate life as required by Courage. Just as not all straight couples choose to live a life of celibacy.

There are Churches that have missions to gay couples, the Episcopal Church, The Old Roman Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church spring to mind. Some of these Churches have the Real Presence (2 from my perspective, 1 from the Catholic Church’s). If you don’t wish to minister to them where they are in life, they may choose to avail themselves of these different Churches. So offering them this ministry may keep them in your Church.
 
a_cermak said:
But do you want to chase them out of the Church?

Not all gay people are in a state where they can say OK, I’ll just live a celibate life as required by Courage. Just as not all straight couples choose to live a life of celibacy.

If you don’t wish to minister to them where they are in life, they may choose to avail themselves of these different Churches. So offering them this ministry may keep them in your Church.
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I agree, there should be ministry to gay “couples”, just as their should be (and often is) ministry to alcoholics, to those suffering from sexual addiction, to prisoners, to gossips, to the overly scrupulous, to those who have fallen away from the Church, to those who abort, to those who contracept.

But what is important is the type of ministry. In all of these cases, the Church should encourage only ministry that provokes change toward holiness (as with all ministry), but specifically a ministry that provokes change of a certain aspect of one’s lifestyle or belief system.

Having a Christmas meeting at the house of a gay couple would be similar to having it at the house of alcoholics, or abusive parents. All these need to be loved, especially in their own home. For Christ went to the sick, and so should His priesthood. But Christ ministered to change lives.

The goal of the priesthood in a gay household, as I see it, should be in order to be a good example of celibate Christian living; the way this gay “couple” should be living.
 
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