What Does the Catholic Church Really Say About Homosexuality?

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian, on the plane returning to Rome from Brazil after World Youth Day in July, 2013.

The Vatican was quick to point out that Francis was not suggesting that priests or anyone else should act on their homosexual tendencies, which the church considers a sin but whether a gay man can become a priest. At one time Bishops did accept gay men for the priesthood but following the sex-scandals in which some priests were convicted of sexually abusing young males it was thought that accepting homosexual men could open the door to more abuse. Since most men in the Catholic priesthood (some priests who have converted from the Anglican Church and, although married, are admitted to the Catholic priesthood) take a vow of celibacy the question of ‘acting on their homosexual tendencies’ is a moot point. A priest, homosexual or heterosexual, is to live a life of celibacy.

What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say?

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

There have been many hypotheses of why people are homosexuals: is it genetic, hormonal or neurological or something else? Although some studies have been done, so far, nothing has been shown unequivocally to be the cause or explanation of why people are attracted to the same sex rather than the opposite sex. Because of this the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that homosexuality's "psychological genesis remains largely unexplained" (CCC 2357).

What does St. Paul Say?
In his Letter to the Roman church (chapter 1:18ff) Paul wrote:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has show it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honour him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.
Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
... Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.”

What Do Others Say?

“Marriage comes with the right to have children. How does a same sex couple get children? Not naturally. They use adoption and commercial third party reproduction, including the buying and selling of eggs and sperm, the renting of a surrogate womb, and creating a special class of women called “breeders.”

“The medical process required for egg retrieval is lengthy, and there are serious medical hazards associated with each step in the process,” said Pediatric Nurse Jennifer Lahl in Jephthah’s Daughters: Innocent Casualties in the War for Family “Equality. Women risk their own future fertility, blood clots, and reproductive cancers. Both surrogates and egg donors die. “Multiple embryos are implanted into surrogates in order to increase the chance of live births. Women are treated as commodities, paid vessels, a breeding class,” Lahl concluded. Multiple children do not survive the process. It’s the old game of kill a baby to get a baby.” http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.ca/2015/05/ireland-creates-modern-day-babel-same.html#.VWox8M9Vikp


The Vote in Ireland
“This “culture war” election was conducted under extraordinary conditions that have never been seen anywhere before in the West. As we described in our pre-election article virtually all of the effort to pass “gay marriage” in Ireland came from massive funding from the United States.” https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/what-really-happened-in-irelands-gay-marriage-referendum


Sources

The Holy Bible.  San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1966.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Toronto, London, New York: Doubleday Publishing Group.
                                                                 1997,

http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.ca/2015/05/ireland-creates-modern-day-babel-same.html#.VWox8M9Vikp

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/what-really-happened-in-irelands-gay-marriage-referendum

Why all the Fuss Over the Pope? Is the Pope Infallible?

The Catholic Church teaches that the Pope is infallible. Many people wonder why this is so and where this teaching originates. Doesn't it give too much power to one person? How can an ordinary 'human being' be infallible? Does it mean that the Catholic Church believes that the pope is not an ordinary human being?

What Does Infallibility Mean?
Part of the problem stems from the fact that the meaning of the words 'infallible' and 'infallibility' are often misunderstood. Infallibility does not mean 'without sin'. That is impeccability. The Pope is not impeccable as all human beings have inherited original sin (the Virgin Mary is a special case which deserves an article of its own). The Pope goes to confession just like any other Catholic.
Infallibility does not mean 'all knowing'; that is omniscience. The Pope does not know what the weather will be like tomorrow (unless he listens to the weather report which may be wrong) nor does he know who will win the World Cup, although he may cheer for his favourite team.

What is Infallibility and When Does It Apply?
Infallibility is defined in the dictionary as 'the inability to err'. Does this mean that the Pope is never wrong? Of course, the Pope can be wrong about some things but not when certain conditions are applied. So when does infallibility apply?
• Infallibility applies only in matters of faith and morals
• Infallibility applies only when the Pope is speaking 'ex cathedra', that is, from the 'chair of Peter', in other words, as the Bishop of the Church over all Bishops.
• The Pope cannot change established doctrine. For example, the Pope cannot change the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth.
• The Pope cannot deny a truth revealed in Scripture. For example, the Pope cannot say that Jesus did not die on the cross.
Why is the Pope Infallible?
As Jesus and His disciples were at Caesarea Philipi Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus replied, "Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So now I say unto you: You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatsoever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19  In giving Peter (which means 'rock') the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Jesus was recalling the office of the Prime Minister which had existed in Israel during the time of King David and his words echo those of Isaiah 22:22 when a bad prime minister was let go and a new one was appointed by God: "In that day I will call my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, ad will bind your girdle on hima, and will comit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; he shall shut , and none shall open."  The role of the pope is that of the Albayit or Prime Minister who would be called 'father' or Papa (pope).
Jesus promised "But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into complete truth." (John 16:13) It stands to reason that if Jesus established his Church on earth, he would also provide a way to keep that Church true to his teachings.
The Pope is only 'infallible' because Jesus promised to keep the Church true to him by sending the Holy Spirit. Although it is true that the Holy Spirit can guide Christians individually, we see in the world today many different interpretations of Scripture and many different denominations have arisen because of these interpretations. They all claim to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They cannot all be true. For example, some denominations say that baptism is for adults who have ‘accepted Jesus as their Saviour’ only, others say that baptism is for babies as well as adults and is a sign of their entrance into the family of God. Which is true? And how do we know which is true? Both groups would claim that their doctrine is found in Scripture.

When Has Infallibility Been Claimed?
It may be surprising to many that ex cathedra statements by the Popes have been very rare. In the past one hundred and thirty –four years there have been only three infallible proclamations made (not counting canonization of saints):
1854 – Doctrine of Infallibility by Pius IX
1870 – Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX
1950 – Doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin by Pius XII
These dogmas were universally held by the Church centuries before and can be found in the writing of the Church Fathers. In these most recent times and because there was a questioning of the doctrine they were 'defined' by these proclamations and not 'invented' by them. For example, on the infallibility of the Pope, Cyprian of Carthage (256 AD) wrote: "Would heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?" (quoted in Keating, page 217)
Some point out that there have been bad popes - those who were openly sinful. It is true that there have been 'bad' Popes who often were appointed by kings or wealthy and powerful people. However, the Holy Spirit kept these Popes from writing error in the same way he has kept 'good' Popes from writing error. No bad pope ever changed doctrine - although, except for the restraint of the Holy Spirit, they could have. Perhaps they were too busy sinning to have time to write any papal bulls or encylclicals!
To summarize, infallibility means that the Holy Spirit prevents the Pope from officially teaching error in his official capacity as the Bishop of Rome ie Pope.

Sources
Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday. 1995
The Jerusalem Bible. New York: Doubleday and Company. 1968
Houghton –Mifflin Canadian Dictionary Markham, Toronto, ON: Houghton-Mifflin Canada Ltd. 1982
Keating, Karl. Catholicism and Fundamentalism. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1988

Change in the Church?

When reporting about the election of the Pope, it seems journalists have their pet words. Listen and count how many times you hear 'change','scandal', 'crossroads', 'crisis', 'conflict', 'abuse' and 'corruption'. I suspect you may find quite a few of these words used over and over.
When the media call for 'change' in the Church they usually mean that the Church should change their ideas about abortion, contraception, divorce, same-sex marriage and the ordination of women. But even the Pope, no matter how much 'power' the media think he has, cannot change what Scripture teaches and they cannot change what previous Popes have taught as dogma. How can the claim that the pope's teaching is infallible be true if the next pope can undo his teaching? By the way, infallibility of the Pope's teaching is only in the area of doctrine and morals (not in practice, as the abstinence from meat on Fridays, for example). Infallibility also applies only when the Pope is speaking ex cathedra or 'from the Chair of Peter'. In recent years there have only been three infallible proclamations by Popes (other than canonizations): Doctrine of Infallibility, Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary. These three doctrines were believed in the early Church but were defined in recent years (19th and 20th centuries).
Watch the video from Salt and Light Television (a Catholic Channel in Canada) to see why doctrine cannot be changed.