HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
...in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Psychologists do not consider sexual orientation for most people to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed. Some people report trying very hard over many years to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual with no success.” (Blumenfeld 122-133) Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professional agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder, or emotional problem. Homosexuality was thought to be a mental illness in the past because mental health professionals and society had biased information about homosexuality since most studies only involved lesbians and gay men in therapy. When researchers examined data about gay people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality as a mental illness was found to be untrue. Even though homosexual orientation is not a mental illness, some therapist’s believe they can still change the sexual orientation of a homosexual person to that of a heterosexual person. Some therapist have reported success in these types of treatments, but in 1990, the American Psychological Association stated that scientific evidence does not show that conversion therapy works and that it can do more harm than good. Changing one’s sexual orientation is not simply a matter of changing one’s sexual behavior. It would require changing one’s emotional, romantic, and sexual feelings, reconstructing their own self-concept and social identity. There are many up-to-date sources of the Catholic Church’s views on homosexuality, but homosexuality is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. In Leviticus 18:22 it states, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination.” Homosexuality has been an issue since the beginning of sexuality itself. Homosexuality is also found in the animal kingdom. It is an issue that is impossible to ignore. The human race is at the point that homosexual issues enter world news daily. In 1976, the American Catholic bishops in their pastoral letter, To Live in Christ Jesus, wrote a concise, yet understandable and balanced view of homosexuality from a Catholic perspective. In it they wrote: “Some persons find themselves, through no fault of their own, to have a homosexual orientation. Homosexuals, like everyone else, should not suffer from prejudice against their basic human rights. They have a right to respect, friendship and justice. They should have an active role in the Christian community. Homosexual activity, however, as distinguished from homosexual orientation, is morally wrong. Like heterosexual persons, homosexuals are called to give witness to chastity, avoiding, with God’s grace, behavior which is wrong for them, just as non-marital sexual relations are wrong for heterosexuals. Nonetheless, because heterosexuals can usually look forward to marriage, and homosexuals, while their orientation continues, might not, the Christian community should provide them a special degree of pastoral understanding and care.” The Catholic Church does not condemn homosexual orientation. It condemns the homosexual’s activity, as it condemns premarital sex. The Catholic Church encourages homosexuals to pick up their cross, despite their difficulties, and strive to live a Christian life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”(Dwyer, Judith) The Catholic Church has not always been understanding of the homosexual condition. “Their first recognition of the need for Christian support of homosexuals was in 1969, when an organization called Dignity was begun. It was the first spiritual support group for lesbian and gay Catholics. As Dignity spread it forced church hierarchy to deal with the issue of homosexuality. By 1982 eight dioceses had established some official outreach to the lesbian and gay community (Blumenfeld 187-189). In 1977, another organization was founded. The group called themselves, New Ways Ministry. It provided the non-gay community education enabling them to learn more about the hidden minority within our Church and society. With the increase of education about homosexuals and the rise of support groups for them, there was evidence of an attitudinal shift in the Catholic Church by the 1970’s.” (Blumenfeld 187-189) Despite the advance of information available about homosexuals, there will, unfortunately, always be controversy and discrimination. The general prejudice against homosexual people has come to be called homophobia. Homophobia literally translated means “fear of the same.” Studies have revealed that individuals who manifest homosexual prejudice also exhibit other attributes. Generally such people tend to be “more authoritarian, intolerant of ambiguity, status conscious, cognitively ri...