Where can I find official church documents on homosexuality?

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What are some official Church documents (from the Vatican, USCCB, etc.) that deal with homosexuality?

Also, what would be considered the most official? Would the most official and authoritative be the section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2357-2359)?

Links would be appreciated! Thank you!
 
catholic1seeks said:
What are some official Church documents (from the Vatican, USCCB, etc.) that deal with homosexuality?

Also, what would be considered the most official? Would the most official and authoritative be the section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2357-2359)?

Links would be appreciated! Thank you!
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Start here:

Catechism scborromeo.org/ccc.htm look at 2357, 2358, 2359 and 2399

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON THE PASTORAL CARE OF HOMOSEXUAL PERSONSvatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html

this is a good place to start too: catholic.com/tracts/homosexuality
 
Vatican.va and do a search for homosexuality. You can’t get more official then that. 🙂
 
catholic1seeks said:
What are some official Church documents (from the Vatican, USCCB, etc.) that deal with homosexuality?

Also, what would be considered the most official? Would the most official and authoritative be the section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2357-2359)?

Links would be appreciated! Thank you!
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Whenever looking for official Church documents on a given topic, it is a good idea to look in the Catechism and then turn to the footnotes. The footnotes will cite all the relevant Church documents (at least up until the time the Catechism was promulgated).

In this case, the CCC points to Persona Humana.
 
catholic1seeks said:
What are some official Church documents (from the Vatican, USCCB, etc.) that deal with homosexuality?

Also, what would be considered the most official? Would the most official and authoritative be the section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2357-2359)?

Links would be appreciated! Thank you!
Click to expand...
The Catechism has footnotes with citations. Everything is abbreviated however. The little white Catechisms have an index in the back of what the abbreviations stand for. You can then look up those documents. There is also a book (forget its name) that has most of the documents that the Catechism quotes. Sometimes it does take a bit more searching.

That said, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has the imparmateur of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. I just noticed that yesterday.
 
catholic1seeks said:
So would Persona Humana be the most official? It deals with homosexuality in section VIII. The CCC refers to this.
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I don’t think the right question to ask if “which document is more official”. There would only be an issue if there was a conflict or contradiction. In which case “more official” would depend on the author, the context, the type of document, the sources cited, etc.
 
What I mean by most official>>>

First of all, what prompted this question was my looking into DignityUSA, a Catholic organization that actually promotes homosexual relationships. I’m very confused on the group’s understanding of the nature of Catholicism. On the one hand, they recognize what Church teaching is. But they say things like:
Official Catholic teaching requires that homosexual people abstain from sex. But the Catholic Church also teaches solemnly that people are obliged to form their conscience carefully and responsibly and to follow it as the bottom line in every moral decision.

Neither Scripture nor Tradition nor natural law theory nor human science nor personal experience convincingly supports official Catholic teaching about the immorality of homogenital acts. Accordingly, and after much soul-searching, many gay and lesbian Catholics have formed consciences that differ from official Church teaching and have entered into homosexual relationships… (Frequently Asked Questions - Catholicism and Homosexuality)
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Catholics believe the Church is protected from error in matters of faith and morals. But people like this group, and many others, want change and think it can change. That would suggest the Church is wrong on a very key moral teaching.

So by “official” I guess, what is the closest thing to infallible?
 
catholic1seeks said:
What I mean by most official>>>

First of all, what prompted this question was my looking into DignityUSA, a Catholic organization that actually promotes homosexual relationships. I’m very confused on the group’s understanding of the nature of Catholicism. On the one hand, they recognize what Church teaching is. But they say things like:

Catholics believe the Church is protected from error in matters of faith and morals. But people like this group, and many others, want change and think it can change. That would suggest the Church is wrong on a very key moral teaching.

So by “official” I guess, what is the closest thing to infallible?
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Oh! Now I understand you point!

That group is not confused, it is simply embracing heresy. The Church had to deal with heretics for 2000 years. The problem that I see is that a lot of heretics of the past and a few present ones distinguished themselves for being intellectually honest. This group like a lot of other ones is just trying to rationalize their falsities. You can only argue with intellectually honest people, and often it does not work in that scenario either.
 
Cristiano said:
Oh! Now I understand you point!

That group is not confused, it is simply embracing heresy. The Church had to deal with heretics for 2000 years. The problem that I see is that a lot of heretics of the past and a few present ones distinguished themselves for being intellectually honest. This group like a lot of other ones is just trying to rationalize their falsities. You can only argue with intellectually honest people, and often it does not work in that scenario either.
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Yeah—it’s sad.
But, I think they’re sincere, no?
 
catholic1seeks said:
Yeah—it’s sad.
But, I think they’re sincere, no?
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I’m not sure I even understand that question.

Sincere means
1.Free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings.
2.(of a person) Saying what they genuinely feel or believe; not dishonest or hypocritical.

I can only imagine that people who embrace and promote teachings contrary to the Church must subjectively think or feel that they are free of deceit. However, since their statements, behavior and teachings are all in direct contradiction with the Church, then they are objectively deceitful, including to themselves.
 
michelleds said:
I’m not sure I even understand that question.

Sincere means
1.Free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings.
2.(of a person) Saying what they genuinely feel or believe; not dishonest or hypocritical.

I can only imagine that people who embrace and promote teachings contrary to the Church must subjectively think or feel that they are free of deceit. However, since their statements, behavior and teachings are all in direct contradiction with the Church, then they are objectively deceitful, including to themselves.
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True…
But surely they want what is good for the homosexual person? I do not agree with what they are doing. They are acting against the Church, its teaching, and its rightful shephers. But at the same time, this issue is very emotional, and I’m sure they want to help these people. Their desire to help—that’s what I mean by being sincere. However, yes, they recognize the Church’s official teaching. So it’s very strange how they think they can act so contrary. They must not believe the Holy Spirit protects the Church from error? The gates of hell can prevail against the church with regard to its teaching, I guess? :eek:
 
catholic1seeks said:
True…
But surely they want what is good for the homosexual person? I do not agree with what they are doing. They are acting against the Church, its teaching, and its rightful shephers. But at the same time, this issue is very emotional, and I’m sure they want to help these people. Their desire to help—that’s what I mean by being sincere. However, yes, they recognize the Church’s official teaching. So it’s very strange how they think they can act so contrary. They must not believe the Holy Spirit protects the Church from error? The gates of hell can prevail against the church with regard to its teaching, I guess? :eek:
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I had some contact with this organization when I was in college. They were very active in my college Newman center. Unless they have changed dramatically, they are not necessarily seeking what is good for homosexual individuals. They are looking for what they believe is good for the Catholic homosexual “community”. They have a self-identified agenda to either change Church teaching or to encourage those who reject the Church’s teaching with regard to sexuality. Homosexual individuals who are seeking to live in accordance with Church teaching do not really get much support or concern from Dignity.
 
catholic1seeks said:
Yeah—it’s sad.
But, I think they’re sincere, no?
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Only if they have not read this part of the Catechism:

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a1.htm
1791 This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin."59 In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.
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1792 Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church’s authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.
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1793 If - on the contrary - the ignorance is invincible, or the moral subject is not responsible for his erroneous judgment, the evil committed by the person cannot be imputed to him. It remains no less an evil, a privation, a disorder. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience.
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