Topic: Homosexuality
Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question
Date originally posted: January 25, 2002
Moderator who originally posted this source: J. Vetter
Question: I am a gay male currently in a loving, committed relationship with my boyfriend of 4 years. I am also a practicing Catholic and deeply believe in God, Jesus, and the Church. However, I am torn between my love for God and Church, and my love for my life mate. Why is my relationship with my boyfriend not recognized by the Catholic Church? Why can my union not be consecrated by a Priest in my own church? I would appreciate enlightening. Thanks, Elliot.
Answer:
The Catholic Church encourages people to love one another--the principle teaching of Jesus. The problem is how to express that love appropriately .
The Catholic Church (and most other religious traditions until recently) once viewed procreation as the only legitimate purpose for sexual activity. More recently, the Catholic Church has begun to acknowledge that using the gift of sexuality within marriage can also be a way of strengthening the couple's marital bond. There is still a lot of tension and debate regarding how this applies, however.
The Catholic Church recognizes that some people are by nature attracted to persons of the same gender. But the Church does not consider valid sexual activity that celebrates that attraction.
Some contend that this will never change, since it is based on Scripture and Tradition. But others contend that as we grow in our understanding of the meaning of human sexuality we may need to adjust our moral teaching.
The Catholic Church would encourage you to have a chaste, faithful, loving relationship with your partner.