It is a little more difficult for the homosexual person because often they struggle with trying to understand why it is they are homosexual. Seeing as they didn’t choose it, why should it be wrong to act on it? This is where helping comes in… but through compassion.

I would also like to add that there seems to be a commonly accepted notion that a gay lifestyle means you’re sleeping around. I must admit, I do not understand why. If you’re heterosexual, that doesn’t automatically mean you’re sleeping around. Why is this so with homosexuals? There are perfectly “normal” gay people.

Anony, I understand (at least I think I do) where you’re coming from. However, in your first paragraph, you’re equating an orientation with the act… basically that one necessitates the other. If you’re homosexual, it doesn’t mean that you’re meant to be in a sexual relationship. If you’re heterosexual, it doesn’t mean that you’re destined to be in a sexual relationship. God does not make us to be in a sexual relationship, not all people. Look at Jesus’ teaching on eunuchs, cf Mt 19:12.

It is extremely difficult almost impossible (in some cases it just cannot be) to go with some teachings when the actual matter is hapening in your flesh (yourself, family, close friends, etc). Just to mention another example (not to open another debate), when your daughter, sister, wife, etc has been raped, is it ok to abort the child? I have seen these cases and like I said it is just not feasible for the affected to believe that there is not an “exception to the rule”.

Does Church (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) accepts killers, rapers, thieves, you, me? Yes! God loves us, not our sin(s). The actual “name” we give (killer, thief, etc) is for us as humans to identify a group, just like heterosexuals; now the way people react to the actual word, well that is different.

Why some people have the tendency to like same gender people? you and me (and maybe some more) would probably never completely understand if what we are looking is a straight yes/no answer. Even worse when we are looking for a complicated-long-wise-brain-psycological answer that satisfies our beliefs, emotions, feelings.

Gos is God, Truth; and He doesn’t need us to BE. Truth is truth regardless of any human being, thought, belief or anything else.

Just some quotes

St. Augustine

“I would not believe in the Gospel myself if the authority of the Catholic Church did not influence me to do so.”
Against the letter of Mani, 5,6, 397 A.D.

“Tell us straight out that you do not believe in the Gospel of Christ; for you believe what you want in the Gospel and disbelieve what you want. You believe in yourself rather than in the Gospel.”
Against Faustus, 17, 3, 400 A.D.

“By the same word, by the same Sacrament you were born, but you will not come to the same inheritance of eternal life, unless you return to the Catholic Church.”
Sermons, 3, 391 A.D.

“The Catholic Church is the work of Divine Providence, achieved through the prophecies of the prophets, through the Incarnation and the teaching of Christ, through the journeys of the Apostles, through the suffering, the crosses, the blood and the death of the martyrs, through the admirable lives of the saints. When, then, we see so much help on God’s part, so much progress and so much fruit, shall we hesitate to bury ourselves in the bosom of that Church? For starting from the Apostolic Chair down through successions of bishops, even unto the open confession of all mankind, it has possessed the crown of teaching authority.”
The Advantage of Believing, 391 A.D

I’d like to challenge you to really think about the idea that homosexuals are “made” differently than people who are not attracted to members of the same sex. The human body, whether it is the body of someone with a homosexual or heterosexual inclination, is made for procreation. Both homosexual and heterosexual men and women have the same sexual organs that perform the same functions. So how can we come to the conclusion that God made some people to be in sexual relationships with members of the same sex? Why would God give these people body parts designed for procreation if He created them to be in sexual relationships where procreation was not possible?

As someone who struggles with same-sex attractions, I can tell you that the homosexual inclination is caused by biology or genetics alone. However, in my journey out of the homosexual lifestyle I have seen that many people with homosexual attractions have a very sensitive temperament. This makes us more likely to internalize the psychological damage caused by bad relationships with other men, particularly our fathers. This results in an intense longing for affection and bonding with other men that often gets sexualized. However, the need is actually for platonic rather than sexual affection. This platonic affection is what helps the heart of someone with a homosexual inclination to heal. It takes chastity for someone with a homosexual inclination to be able to come to this realization and see that he has wounds that need to be healed through a relationship with God and with platonic relationships with members of the same sex. This is why the notion that encouraging people with homosexual attractions to act on their urges simply because these urges are strong is a misguided way of showing compassion. A better way to show compassion is to show people with homosexual attractions the beauty of chastity and a relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.

Also, I really think it’s time the archdiocese starts to take some more forceful steps to oppose efforts to redefine marriage here in the District. The first thing that needs to be done is to start a Courage chapter. I read somewhere that there are 75,000 self-identified homosexuals in D.C., and I’m sure a good number of them are Catholic. Why can’t we do something to help these people see the beauty of living a chaste life? Also, people need to hear about the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and marriage from the pulpit. We cannot afford to have our priests silent on this issue.

I must be misinterpreting your comment, “Love and compassion actually require that I hold to my morality….”. I’ve always lived believing that love and compassion were meant to apply to ALL people, regardless of moral views – a love the sinner not the sin concept. I can be compassionate and love a person and still not accept their moral values for it is through my actions and words that I truly show my understanding of Christ’s love for mankind. Are you perhaps speaking to the legal ramifications when laws are changed based on morals and interpretations that you don’t agree with? I can understand not voting for a law that goes against your moral beliefs but I don’t understand how love and compassion have anything to do with morals, either your own or the other party’s. Can you help me out here?

Homosexuals have come a long way from having to hide in the peverbial closet. Does that mean that they should have marriages and requiring the term to be redefined? Um, well, no. But we need to help them to understand that. And, going about it by citing commandments, laws, etc. isn’t going to do it. Why? because doing it that way is basically saying that they’re sick, deformed. If you walk up to someone and say “Hi, you’re deformed. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll help fix that,” you’re only going to push them further away and sow seeds of resentment and/or hatred. (Yes, that example is an exaggeration, sorry.) If a guy is attracted to another guy, if he loves another guy, that is not a reason to bully him, to beat him, or to ostracize him. As has been said many times in these comments already, it’s not a choice.

Most people cannot even imagine the fright and pain a homosexual goes through. Of course it’s not the same for everyone. Regardless of how acceptable it is today to be homosexual, in many cases, it’s still a shock to the person once they discover it. Eric Millegan (former character Zach on the TV series Bones) has an interview on the internet somewhere about his own personal discovery. It’s rather insightful. But I’m going on a tangent.

Compassion doesn’t mean compromising morals… but it does mean meeting someone where they’re at on their journey. Once there is a real meeting with love, and a real love, then anything is possible.

I don’t view their sexual orientation that way either; nothing in disorder is from God. That would be like believing God gave someone a genetic abnormality. I’ve come to believe that both are a consequence of Original Sin and the disorder it created, and we all suffer those consequences in many personal ways.

There are things you have written with which I couldn’t agree more- things about equality and compassion. I simply don’t believe justice to any group of people means forgoing what I am taught, and believe, is a correct moral position. Love and compassion actually require that I hold to my morality, though I do understand why that is hard for some to understand, especially with this topic.

I do, in fact, have relationships with people who are homosexual. One relationship, in particular, required that I love, as you suggested, “more.” Empathy in large quantity was required in order for me to maintain that relationship. So, with respect, I understand better than I think you may believe I do.

No offense, but I just wonder how many homosexuals you all are in relationship with. I’m talking people who you know well, maybe even love, maybe they are family, relatives, friends. It’s easy to quote Scripture, teaching, and natural law as being your authority, but for the many homosexuals alive today, their authority is the natural law inside of themselves that is called to love people of the same gender. They don’t view their sexual orientation as a sad disorder, as a mistake from God. (That would be truly sad.) It is something written in their hearts. That is their Scripture. Trust me, I understand the Church’s teaching much more than I do homosexuality. And as a heterosexual, the Church’s teaching make sense because that’s how I was made. But these men and women are made differently. Not by themselves, it seems, but by God.

My whole point is that we can’t keep ignoring these people or treating them, through our words, like they are a problem. Like they are confused, disordered, criminals. Repeating Church teaching isn’t going to make them feel very loved or very welcomed in the Roman Catholic Church. Repeating Church teaching isn’t going to help address the movement of homosexuals who are starting to demand to be seen as equal in the eyes of society, the Church, and God. Rather than clinging to these teachings and treating these people as lepers, how about we treat them as Jesus would? With love, compassion, and even preference.