Senior German Priest Calls Homosexuality a Sickness. A Report

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Father Romano Christen, the Director of the Bonn Collegium Albertinum told a group of people studying to enter the priesthood that homosexuality is the consequence of a failed psychological development. Reported to the media, some condemned him. some defended him.

The lecture stated that even if romantically expressed, homosexuality came from a “narcissistic search” for masculinity.

Christens circulated a statement on Thursday, saying that he did not mean to unduly criticize members of the gay and lesbian community but was merely reflecting Catholic dogma on the topic

“People with homosexual inclinations deserve respect and must not be degraded,” he said.
 
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No, of course not. But it does get tiring to have the same fights repeated over and over, and we’re unlikely to change anything about it on here.
 
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mdgspencer said:
homosexuality is the consequence of a failed psychological development
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Seems perfectly plausible to me at least in some instances. Not sure if I would go so far to claim it is necessarily universally the case or exclusively the case (that would definitely demand a pretty vigorous and developed argument, coupled with a lot of studies), while I would assume also by “homosexuality” the priest means its active practice or pursuit and not merely someone who might be dealing with some SSA.
 
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SeraficLeo said:
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mdgspencer:
homosexuality is the consequence of a failed psychological development
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Seems perfectly plausible to me at least in some instances. Not sure if I would go so far to claim it is necessarily universally the case or exclusively the case (that would definitely demand a pretty vigorous and developed argument, coupled with a lot of studies), while I would assume also by “homosexuality” the priest means its active practice or pursuit and not merely someone who might be dealing with some SSA.
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So, when Father Romano Christen said that homosexuality was the “consequence of a failed psychological development,” he’s only talking about it’s active practice and he doesn’t mean to imply that the inclination itself is the result of such a “failed psychological development”? Does he believe that a homosexual inclination which is not acted upon is a perfectly normal psychological development?

He also said that he was “merely reflecting Catholic dogma on the topic”. But is it Catholic dogma that homosexuality comes from a “narcissistic search” for masculinity as he claims? I think that the Father is perhaps going a little beyond what Catholic dogma has to say on this subject in making that assertion.

The Father also said, “People with homosexual inclinations deserve respect and must not be degraded," but I doubt that homosexuals who have been told that they’re narcissistic and have a failed psychological development are going to feel respected and not degraded.
 
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Thorolfr said:
But is it Catholic dogma that homosexuality comes from a “narcissistic search” for masculinity as he claims?
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No. But it does consider SSA to be objectively disordered, and this claim is made as part of the Church’s ordinary teaching (in the Catechism). But it’s not dogma, as far as I know, when being considered or applied especially in a psychological context or consideration (but SSA is considered morally forbidden: we aren’t supposed to willingly entertain strictly lustful desires of any kind). I think it could be argued that lust is intrinsically selfish and therefore morally disordered and dangerous for that reason, as it can form selfish habits.
Thorolfr said:
I doubt that homosexuals who have been told that they’re narcissistic and have a failed psychological development are going to feel respected and not degraded.
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Like I said, I would definitely need a lot more evidence for a simple claim that homosexuality is the result of a narcissistic search for masculinity in men. But I imagine the priest likely has some basis for that claim and it may apply or be accurate at least in some cases. We do have an obligation - especially when or if it concerns people’s health, happiness and well-being - to tell the truth, when and if it applies and it can be healing or helpful. That this should be done with all charity also goes without saying.

Granting, with the Church, that there is something objectively disordered about SSA - certainly and at least if it is willingly entertained - it’s hard to deny that something, somewhere had to go wrong. This priest seems to think it occurred in someone’s psychological development, which I think is at least likely partly true. But again, I’d want to know more about why he says that or would think it, because I believe it’s definitely a claim that requires scientific and empirical backing.
 
SeraficLeo said:
Like I said, I would definitely need a lot more evidence for a simple claim that homosexuality is the result of a narcissistic search for masculinity in men.
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My antennae start to quiver when I see soomeone writing about homosexuality and the only reference is to male homosexuality
 
Bradskii said:
My antennae start to quiver when I see soomeone writing about homosexuality and the only reference is to male homosexuality
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Well, he was being quoted in the context of a seminary, so I can see how that might happen.
 
SeraficLeo said:
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Bradskii:
My antennae start to quiver when I see soomeone writing about homosexuality and the only reference is to male homosexuality
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Well, he was being quoted in the context of a seminary, so I can see how that might happen.
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According to the article:
Stephan Goertz, a Catholic Moral Theologian from Mainz, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that such comments represented the “moral theological and scientific state of the 1950s and 1960s”.
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I agree and most of the literature from that period doesn’t have much to say about lesbians. It is based for the most part on ideas from Freud whose writings have fallen out of favor among psychologists.
 
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Why can’t the Church just say it’s a form of concupiscence and leave the psychoanalysis to the psychoanalysts?
 
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Salibi said:
How many practicing, non-Catholic homosexuals are there on CAF to inform of the heinous error of their ways?
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I meant you could do something to change the minds of some people here who believe in things the Church doesn’t teach, such as homosexuality is a sin.
 
The argument has been biased in this way because two gay men have always been the most common public depiction of homosexuality. Two gay women are not portrayed except in a few cases.
 
A wrong observation. Freud does not matter. The American Psychiatric Association was placed under pressure by radical gay activists like Frank Kameny in the late 1960s, early 1970s. Later, they would be lobbied by LGBT activists for a change in the category Gender Identity Disorder. Lobbying is not science.
 
That’s not good enough here or among gay rights groups who monitor the Church regarding this subject.
 
Why indeed? The Father’s statements seem to me a rehashing of old Freudian theory regarding homosexuality. I don’t know how well-versed he is in this regard, but when it comes to speaking in Freudian language, a little knowledge is truly a dangerous thing.
 
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