And now a more serious post. The religious blog Deus Nobiscum recently finished posting a series of short articles worth reading. They do a nice job of explaining my beliefs on this subject. (They’re short. It doesn’t take long.)
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 1: Equal Persons
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 2: Unequal Acts Part 1
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 3: Unequal Acts Part 2
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 4: The Call to Chastity
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 5: The Rugged Cross
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 6: Love, Not Hate Part 1
Catholicism and Homosexuality Part 7: Love, Not Hate Part 2
They are written more concisely and with more grace than I would’ve ever been able to manage. This subject continues to be a touchy one among some of my good friends. It can be a very difficult thing to discuss. I know it is often sentimentalized by TV and Hollywood to be a struggle to be oneself and find love in the midst of oppressive institutions, outdated ideologies, and naive or downright prejudiced individuals. I can only hope my friends can give my understanding of this subject a little more credit than all that.
At the very least, even if you don’t agree with it, you owe it to yourself to not be afraid of or offended by people who understand and speak about sexual morality (and the spirituality behind it) and its related issues in this way. When I, or a Catholic priest for that matter, mentions these things, it is not an effort to shame dissenters. It is an honest (and, in my opinion, very beautiful) understanding of sexual nature. There is nothing to fear about it.
God bless!
1 Comment
S P Hannifin · December 11, 2013 at 6:58 PM
My only comment: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is mentioned in the last article as an example of unjust discrimination. However, I’m not sure DADT was ever meant to keep open homosexuals out of the military just because everyone else was uncomfortable with them, but rather an effort to deter openly sexually partnering up while trying to defend the nation. Chastity is not a call everyone accepts or strives for, and the military has a job environment that may run rampant with temptations as young physically fit recruits continually join and modes of living may be much more intimate. Granted, I don’t know the specifics of DADT and how they related to whatever other protocols the military has for sexual behavior, so I could be wrong about all this, but repealing it while the culture is actively discouraging chastity may only help to create more problems, especially as there are already many reports of the military mishandling sexual misconduct.