Where does this teaching come from, and what does it mean? While this teaching has some biblical roots (Gn 19:1-29 Rom 1:24-27 1 Cor 6:10 1 Tm 1:10), we can perhaps best understand it from the church’s traditional reliance on natural law, which was itself heavily influenced by the writings of St. 2357-59.) Consequently, the homosexual orientation (and by extension, any orientation other than heterosexuality) is regarded as “objectively disordered.” Homosexual acts are, according to the catechism, “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to natural law.” (The bulk of the catechism’s attention to homosexuality is contained in Nos. As any reputable psychologist or psychiatrists will agree, people do not choose to be born with any particular sexual orientation.īut when most people ask questions about “church teaching” they are referring not to this question, but to restrictions on homosexual, or same-sex, activity as well as the prohibition on same-sex marriage. Nowhere in the catechism does it say that simply being homosexual is a sin. Regularly I am asked questions like, “Isn’t it a sin to be gay?” But this is not church teaching. That may be one of the most poorly understood of the church’s teachings. To that end, it’s important to state that in the eyes of the church simply being gay or lesbian is not a sin-contrary to widespread belief, even among educated Catholics.
When it comes to gays and lesbians, then, the Gospel values of love, mercy and compassion are the building blocks of all church teaching. In fact, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics are probably the most marginalized group in the church today, and so I believe that Christ loves them with a special love. Moreover, in his public ministry Jesus continually reached out to those who felt ignored, excluded or marginalized, which many gay and lesbian Catholics do. They are beloved children of God, created by God and in need of God’s loving care and mercy-as all of us are. So the most fundamental of all church teachings about gay and lesbian people is this: God loves them. So it’s important to ask: What is the church’s official teaching on these issues? As an aside, since the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a compendium of church teaching on various topics, does not address bisexual or transgender persons but rather “homosexual persons,” I’ll refer here to gay and lesbian people to be more precise.Ĭhurch teaching at the most basic level is contained in the Gospels and, even more basically, in the revelation of the Father’s love in Jesus Christ. As I mentioned in the book, good bridges take people in both directions. (As a Catholic priest, I have also never challenged those teachings, nor will I.)īut for a meaningful encounter to occur between the church hierarchy and any community, it’s helpful if both groups understand one another as much as possible. Overall, the book was about dialogue and prayer, rather than moral theology. It also makes little sense to begin a conversation with topics on which the two sides are the farthest apart. Usually these questions are asked not by Catholics who are unaware of the church’s teaching (for most Catholics know the teachings) rather they are asked by Catholics who want to understand the basis for the church’s teachings on those topics.īuilding a Bridge intentionally steered clear of issues of sexual morality, since I hoped to foster dialogue by focusing on areas of possible commonality and the church hierarchy and the majority of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics remain far apart on these issues. The most common are: “What can we say to gay people who believe that God hates them?” “How can we help young people who feel tempted to suicide because of their sexual orientation?” And “What can we say to gay or lesbian Catholics who feel that their own church has rejected them?”Īnother common question is about the church’s official teaching on homosexuality, homosexual activity and same-sex marriage. Since Building a Bridge, a book on ministering to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics, was published, I have been asked-at Catholic parishes, retreat centers, colleges and universities and conferences-a few questions that recur over and over.