Homosexual Acts Cannot be Approved or Celebrated by the Church – Here’s Why

091614In recent years, homosexuality has frequently been in the news. An increasingly nationwide effort to make homosexual acts something to celebrate has gained great ground and sowed serious confusion even among those who describe themselves as Christian and Catholic. Hence, it is necessary once again to instruct on this matter and to reassert what Scripture plainly teaches and why the Church cannot affirm what the world demands we affirm.

An essential fact is that the Scriptures are very clear in unambiguously, uncompromisingly declaring homosexual acts as a serious sin and as disordered. “Disordered” here means that they are acts that are not ordered to their proper end or purpose. Sexual acts are, by their very nature, ordered to procreation and to the bonding of the mother and father who will raise the children conceived by their sexual intimacy. These ends or purposes have been intrinsically joined by God, and we are not to separate what what God has joined.  In the Old Testament, Scripture describes the sinful and disordered quality of homosexual acts by the use of the word “abomination,” and in the New Testament, St. Paul calls homosexual acts “paraphysin” (contrary to nature).

Attempts by some to reinterpret Scripture to mean something else are fanciful, at best, and  use theories that require twisted logic and questionable historical views in an attempt to set aside the very plain meaning of the texts.

Likewise in the wider culture, among those who do not accept Scripture, there has been an increasingly insistent refusal to acknowledge what the design of the human body plainly discloses: that the man is for the woman, and the woman is for the man. The man is not for the man, nor the woman for the woman. This is plainly set forth in the design of our bodies. The outright refusal to see what is plainly visible and literally built into our bodies is not only a sign of intellectual stubbornness and darkness (cf Rom 1:18, 21), but it also leads to significant issues with health, even to deadly diseases.

And we who believe in the definitive nature of scriptural teaching on all aspects of human sexuality are not merely considered out-of-date by many in our culture, but are being increasingly pressured to affirm what we cannot reasonably affirm. Cardinal Francis George recently expressed the current situation in this way:

In recent years, society has brought social and legislative approval to all types of sexual relationships that used to be considered “sinful.” Since the biblical vision of what it means to be human tells us that not every friendship or love can be expressed in sexual relations, the church’s teaching on these issues is now evidence of intolerance for what the civil law upholds and even imposes. What was once a request to live and let live has now become a demand for approval. The “ruling class,” those who shape public opinion in politics, in education, in communications, in entertainment, is using the civil law to impose its own form of morality on everyone. We are told that, even in marriage itself, there is no difference between men and women, although nature and our very bodies clearly evidence that men and women are not interchangeable at will in forming a family. Nevertheless, those who do not conform to the official religion, we are warned, place their citizenship in danger [1].

Whatever pressures many may wish to place on the Church to conform, however they may wish to “shame” us into compliance by labeling us with adjectives such as bigoted, homophobic, or intolerant, we cannot comply with their demands. We must remain faithful to scriptural teaching, to our commitment to natural law, and to Sacred Tradition. We simply cannot affirm things such as fornication and homosexual acts and reject the revelation of the body as it comes from God.

What some call intolerance or “hatred” is, for us who believe, rather, a principled stance wherein we see ourselves as unable to overrule the clear and unambiguous teaching of Holy Scripture. And this teaching exists at every stage of revelation, from the opening pages right through to the final books of Sacred Writ. The Church has no power to override what God has said; we cannot cross out sentences or tear pages from the Scripture. Neither can we simply reverse Sacred Tradition or pretend that the human body, as God has designed it, does not manifest what it clearly does.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church announces this principled stance with eloquence and with an understanding of the difficulties encountered by those with same-sex attraction:

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. 

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.

Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection (CCC 2357-2359).

We can speak no other way. We do not detest those of same sex-attraction, but we as a Church owe them the same truth we have always proclaimed as coming from God, and out of respect we must  hold them to the same standards of chastity by which all must live.

There can be no sexual intercourse for any who are not in a valid heterosexual marriage. We cannot give approval for it; we do not have the power to do this, no matter how insistent, forceful, or even punitive the demands that we do so become. This will not change because it cannot change.

Homosexuals are not being singled out in this matter. As we saw in yesterday’s post, fornication (pre-marital sex) is also set forth by scripture and tradition as a very serious mortal sin (cf Eph 5:5- 7; Gal 5:16-21; Rev 21:5-8; Rev. 22:14-16; Mt. 15:19-20; 1 Cor 6:9-20; Col 3:5-6; 1 Thess 4:1-8; 1 Tim 1:8-11; Heb 13:4). It cannot be approved no matter how widespread its acceptance becomes. One standard of sexual norms applies to all people, whatever their orientation.

Sadly those of unalterable same-sex attraction have no recourse to marriage. But all of us bear burdens of one sort or another, and not everyone is able to partake in everything life offers. For the sake of holiness, heroic witness is necessary, and many of those with same-sex attraction do live celibately and give admirable witness to the power of grace.

God must have the final word in this. And so I present to you here some selections from Sacred Scripture that clearly teach against homosexual acts. The witness of Scripture in this regard is very consistent across all the ages of biblical Revelation. From the opening pages of Holy Writ to the final books, homosexual acts, along with fornication and adultery, are unambiguously forbidden and described as gravely sinful. In addition, homosexual acts, because they are contrary to nature and to the revelation of the body and the nature of the sexual act, are often described as acts of depravity or as an “abomination.” Some consider such words unpleasant or hurtful. I understand, but they are the words that Scripture uses. Here is a sample of Scriptural teaching against homosexual acts:

  1. You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination (Leviticus 18: 22).
  2. If a man lies with a male as with a female, both of them have committed an abomination (Lev 20:13).
  3. Likewise, the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah depicts, among other things, the sinfulness of homosexual activity. It is too lengthy to reproduce here in its entirety, but you can read about it in Genesis 19.
  4. 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 shown it to them…in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and 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. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct (Romans 1:18ff).
  5. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanders nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6-9).
  6. The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, for those who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.(1 Timothy 1: 8-11).

And this is the testimony of Sacred Scripture. To these could be added other passages, along with a long list of quotes from the Fathers and from Sacred Tradition, with Councils and other teaching documents from the earliest days of the Church until today.

To those who like to object that Jesus himself never spoke of homosexual acts, I would give these three responses:

  1. It was not a disputed matter among the Jews to whom he preached.
  2. Jesus said to his apostles, “He who hears you hears me.” And therefore Jesus does speak through St. Paul and the other epistle writers.
  3. The same Holy Spirit that authored the Gospels also authored the Epistles. There are not different authors or levels of authority in Sacred Writ. What St. Paul says is no less authoritative or inspired than what the evangelists recorded.

The teaching of the Church regarding the sinfulness of homosexual acts, fornication, and adultery cannot change, attested to as they are in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. The Church can only offer the truth to all the faithful and to all in this world, along with her promise of God’s mercy to those who seek repentance and who now desire to live chastely. To those who refuse, she continues to give warning and to pray both for conversion and for rescue from the deceptions of the world and the evil one.

Cardinal George summarized well both the reason we cannot approve homosexual acts and the solution of celibacy for those of same-sex attraction: The biblical vision of what it means to be human tells us that not every friendship or love can be expressed in sexual relations [2]. Clear and concise. Thank you, Cardinal George.

For more information and support for those who have same-sex attraction, see here: Courage

155 Replies to “Homosexual Acts Cannot be Approved or Celebrated by the Church – Here’s Why”

  1. Frequently today, one hears the call to be dismissive of all Old Testament morality clauses (such as Leviticus 18 & 20 as you cite in your article) because certain aspects of the Law of Moses are disregarded even by Christians today. The common examples I hear are wearing mixed fabrics and eating foods considered unclean by the Law. My understanding in such matters it that Jesus (Mt 5) and the early Church (Acts 10; Acts 15) set aside some aspects of Law of Moses, even while maintaining the core of the Law of Moses — the Ten Commandments — as one of the pillars of the Christian life (and the Catechism of the Catholic Church). My question is this: What rationale can you offer to explain how a person can discern which Old Testament laws still apply and which may be disregarded? In other words, why should we continue to hold to Leviticus 18 & 20, when no Christian follows some of the other morality clauses in the book of Leviticus? Does the wording of each command have to be considered on a case-by-case basis? Did the Law of Moses develop in stages, where the earliest laws still hold, while later laws can be dismissed? Something else?

    Thank you for your thoughts. I see this argument VERY often today.

    1. A distinction is required. It is true that some aspects of the Levitical law were set aside by later law or simply fell away. This is not the case however with all things in it to include the areas where it forbids murder acts of theft and so forth. The same is true for its mention of homosexual acts. That Homosexual acts are forbidden in confirmed at every stage of the biblical text and the teaching remains unchanged. Thus, what Leviticus says regarding homosexual acts remains valid because other texts and eras confirm what it says. This is not the case for certain other Levitical text which, for example, require that hair be cut in a certain way of that certain foods are forbidden etc.

      1. Leviticus calls for the death penalty for certain acts, but somehow you missed that bit. There is nothing in NT about the wearing of mixed threads. Does that still stand in that case?

        I dislike the pick and mix approach to use of the Bible to teach morality.

        1. Ok, but I am not proof-texting here. That’s why I state several times that the teaching against homosexual acts exists at every state of scripture and remains unchanged. Not all things in Scripture are unchanged. For example kosher laws were set aside by Jesus, thus, those things in the Levitical code DO fall away. So do a lot of the punishments assigned and other olds n ends that regulate hairstyles clothing etc. However somethings DO endure and are at every stage. The teaching against homosexual acts, fornication, adultery, murder theft etc are examples of that. Hence it is fair to quote texts like these and avoid your critique. The Catholic approach to Scripture is not to hold every text equal but to see each text in the wider context of the whole biblical text. Thus as we look back at texts from Leviticus we see those text in the light of what followed. Some laws just fell away, (e.g. putting rails on your roof), others were abrogated by later law, e.g. dietary laws were abolished by Jesus, and laws perdure, for example laws against homosexual acts.

          1. I was reading an article today by Father Brian Harrison, O.S., who said in “Why Are Homosexual Acts Wrong?” the following: “Moreover, we never find in the New Testament that homosexual activity is censured in the same context as offenses against mere transient, culturally-conditioned, disciplinary norms such as those regarding female head-covering or adornment. Nor are these latter infractions of church discipline ever said to exclude anyone from the kingdom of Heaven, as is the case with the series of sins including sodomy set out in 1 Corinthians 6:9.

          2. This analysis seems to ignore that Jesus, if anything, was a marriage traditionalist, setting aside even divorce (allowed by Moses) and reaffirming marriage as a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. (Matthew 19) And, as Msgr. Pope confirmed, the man-woman nature of marriage was not in dispute among the Jews. Thus, any relationship between same sex couples would have been fornication, which is explicitly condemned in 1 Corinthians 6:9.

          3. I’m on your side, but when you say “Some laws just fell away” you are leaving a loophole big enough for a non-believer to drive a truck through. Those dietary laws abrogated by Jesus or the apostles are easily understood. What you say is the Catholic approach of seeing each text in the wider context of the whole Bible “Love” is being used as an excuse for abrogating the parts dealing with sex outside marriage — we’re getting pressure now to admit divorced Catholics in a second non-celebate “marriage” to the Eucharist “in the name of love”. I know they’re just playing with words, but how does an apologist put this across in the average challenge we are faced with ? Thanks.

    2. Moral laws are ETERNAL. And here is the logic: Our sexual act can create the body and soul composite (the TEMPLE OF GOD). Therefore, to misuse the sexual act through fornication, contraception (to DISMANTLE the MECHANISM that creates the temple of God) sodomy (the seed of life is ejaculated into the human waste) is evil.
      Liberals, do you not see how sexual sins desecrate the Temple of God?

  2. Also, in Judges, Chapters 19-21, where the Israelites opposed Benjamin and, although they were defeated twice, persisted until victory the third time.
    Persistance was necessary in spite of hope fading.
    In apparent mercy the remains of Benjamin was restored with new, virginal, wives.
    Note; got your book and began reading it this morning.

    1. And recall what ultimately set off that war…a bunch of depraved villagers wishing to rape a man who was just passing through…

  3. Thanks for a great post! I pray a little prayer everyday that Jesus will look after my priest & all HIS orthodox priests, and that HE may change the hearts and minds of the others. This is all we can do, without hounding our priest every week about this and that while at the door of the parish with others waiting. Now, if he chooses to have a blog, then that would open up a place where we could. I’m sure there are those that will write letters & send their priests blog posts from time to time. Since I have found a solid priest that tries his best to teach us the faith, my letters and copies of blog posts would be praise and make sure you read this guy. But, he already knows this. I could have tried this with my priests at my former parish, but was to chicken to try. One had been ordained for 50 years and the other for 25 years. So, I protested with my feet. It didn’t hurt those priest one bit. My wife went along, but, was not happy because we lost some good friends, but I had to find a parish priest that preached like some of the priests I liked on the internet. Like you. Thanks again, and may GOD continue to Bless you.

  4. Hoping that this article too would help to prick the blindness , esp. of those who as law givers , try to get the whole nation to agree to demeaning lies which are all variations of attacks against The Father and the dignity of fatherhood of men .

    Happened to watch presentation of a program on male spirituality , on EWTN , called ‘That Man is you ‘ –

    http://www.paradisusdei.org/index.php/programs/tmiy/ – good to see how something started by one persons is growing well, through many parishes .

    The book ‘ Freedom through Deliverance ‘ by Fr.Carl Schmidt might be another helpful armour for all who wants to take authority, through holy lives and prayer , away from forces of evil ;

    the book briefly mentions the topic of ancestral curses , on how sin of sacriilege , hatred of God etc. can all manifest , in generations , as sin of pride ,contempt for women and controlling ways ( that contempt for women possibly from distaste for life and children which are ancient areas of enemy hatreds ) which can manifest in deceitful ways , such as irresponsible overindulgence , to cover up or make up for the inner gulit and conflicts .

    The Lord’s words on warnings against adultery , how even looking at one with lust is sin of adultery , need to be very applicable to this situation as well , since such hidden attitudes can play havoc , by unholy soul ties
    with its attendant insidious , built in envy and hatred towards what is meant to have been Godly commitments , towards The Lord and family .

    ‘ Pagans sacrifice to the demons ‘ – words of St.Paul ; if lawful marriage is from awareness and respect for Godly truth of the right and dignity of being in a covenantal relationship , as has been shown us from creation on down , cohabitation and unholy ties can be seen as an indircet invitation to enter in to enemy pacts and relationship – an agent who wants to use and destroy , thus , a form of prostitution .

    ‘Looking with lust ‘ – one has to wonder if that area , from the vast influence of media , is what spews the flood !

    Could the remedy be , efforts to train the mind and heart , to often recite the Hail Mary , in spiritual union with the Holy Father and with all who are occasions of sin or need for deliverance ;

    thus , even watching a football game can be an occasion of bringing all , the players , the onlookers , to The Mother and thus to The Lord .

    ‘ Hail Mary , full of grace ‘ – born from a line of holy parents , conceived without influence of carnal nature , living the awesome joy of The Incarnation , Assumption, grace and strenght to live in His will, trusting in His power and goodness , even in the midst of all trials , and The Lord , pouring in grace , to sustain her and through her , us who are willing to see The Lord magnified through her , even to give sorrow of contrition ,by taking in a bit of the anguish she would have had , to help sinners, to repent ( thus, sparing any , from tendency to nag ! )

    The age old wisdom of the family rosary can be recognised as well – saying the 50 Hail Mary’s , to help one to do so , through the day .

    Invoking her and thus the Holy Trinity , at every moment of pain , frustration , temptation – may the prayers of all help us to do so and take back the freedom , to live in Godly dignity and truth , of being the children of
    The Father , whose holy Face we behold , in The Son !

  5. Good article.

    > There can be no sexual intercourse for any who are not in a valid heterosexual marriage.

    Does anyone consider it confusing that the Pope recently married a number of couples who have been cohabitating for years? It seems like it could create confusion. I have coworkers who have been living with their girlfriends for many years and I used to try to suggest it wasn’t the best way to go about it. But when our own dear Pope is there blessing and marrying them.. ? The whole world says there is nothing wrong with it, and if the Supreme Pontiff is marrying them..

  6. I want to know why so many priest in the Washington diocese do not speak about sin, their homilies are a long winded list of platitudes. People are lost, they now are living the worst kind of Atheism, “there is a God and he thinks just like me”. The Bishops do not speak out clarifying the need to instruct the faithful, so the ordinary pew sitter keeps on believing what he wants. Parishioners are not challenged its more of I’m ok your ok. The only time you here from the Cardinal is when he is looking for donations for his appeal. I recently heard a priest say jokingly that he thanked God that he gave him a parish that did not sin because no one goes to confession. I later told him kindly the real reason no one goes to confession is because sin is no longer preached from the pulpit. To this day I still have not heard any instruction from the pulpit about what is sin. Does the Cardinal send out a memo to all the priest warning them to never prick the conscience of the parishioners because it might injure their psyche. For the doctor to heal the patient he must first diagnose the symptom, if the patient doesn’t even know he has a disease, how can the doctor heal him!

    1. No the Cardinal sends no memo. The issue you describe is a human problem. Priests don’t like conflict any more than anyone else. I do not say this is an excuse, just an explanation. As for those who do speak out they are often treated poorly by angry parishioners and suffer letters etc being sent in. Therefore I would say the best you can do is to encourage your priest when he does speak, make sure he doesn’t feel alone in the battle.

    2. Steve —

      For the record, Cardinal Wuerl has written about sin, etc. extensively, including on the issue of human sexuality, in his blog, in his articles in the Catholic Standard, in the e-letters he sends out and are available on the Archdiocese website, and in his many talks and homilies he gives. He has written books on the subject and instituted a special initiative promoting the Sacrament of Confession called The Light is On.

      With the upcoming Synod on the Family, I expect he’ll have some more to say on the matter. I suggest you go take a look.

  7. Monsignor Pope, sometimes I fear that you don’t lead with mercy on this issue. I showed this posting to a gay Catholic friend of mine, and he feels like your post does little to try to understand the difficulties that gay people have in participating in the life of our faith.

    Consider these words of Pope Francis: “In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.”

    “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy.”

    How are you, Monsignor Pope, accompanying gay people with mercy? How can you ensure that gay people have a home in our faith and that our Church is–in the words of Pope Francis– “always a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.”

    I welcome your response. I think it’s important to discuss this.

    1. Sorry you don’t like my tone. Nevertheless this is a blog post, and I can’t be everyone’s pastor. The purpose here is to clearly and unambiguously the why of the Church’s teaching. I am not so much doing outreach to the LGBTQIA community as striving to confirm confused and often discouraged Catholics in the truths of faith. As such my work is compassionate, though not to your target group as much as you like. However speaking the truth is an important work of love, even if at times the “tone” is trumpet-like. Jesus and the prophets did always do a lot of hand-holding. There are times for that, but for now and for this post the point is to establish the truth and the why of it. To some degree there is a little too much emphasis and the feelings of people and this has allowed the message to often be muddled. Count me here as pulling in the other direction a bit. Sorry you don’t like it…sed, quod scripsi, scripsi

      1. C S Lewis had some good words on this in “the Abolition of Man” which was addressing the need to educate the emotions so that they are under the guidance of reason. It sounds dry, but it’s pure logic and and it supports the facts of natural law; and in order for humans to be in accord with right reason, –the objective need to tell the truth about reality, which is more important than our subjective feelings about those parts of reality we don’t like.

    2. I don’t believe it is merciful to not point out in a piece of public writing when a group of people are in error. Msgr. Pope didn’t seen to be judging the souls of anyone, but he was calling certain behaviors sinful and contrary to sacred scripture.

      Mercy doesn’t equal See No Evil. It doesn’t mean carte blanche to continue in the sinful way.

      Homosexually oriented persons (and one could also add in here divorced persons or single persons of any orientation, and possibly even married persons, at times) who accept the Church’s teachings about chastity are living lives of heroic virtue in this day and age. It is not an easy way. It is entering through the narrow gate.

      Those people who feel judged in reading this piece of writing might be experiencing the bite of the Holy Spirit (or as St. Ignatius of Loyola might say, the good spirit) acting upon their conscience, calling them to repentance. It’s not a good feeling–I know how sorrowful I was at my own conversion.

    3. The body and soul composite is the TEMPLE OF GOD. This Temple of God is created when a man and a woman are united in marriage under God. The homosexual act MISUSE the sexual act given by God to create the Temple of God. The seed of life should not be ejaculated into the human waste. To ejaculate the seed of life given by God into the human waste is an ABOMINATION.

      I rather give you the truth than sugar coated poison.

    4. Christopher, I did not see this post as attempting to address difficulties experienced by persons with same-sex attraction, so why do you admonish this way? It was instructive. If teachers stop teaching because some in the class do not feel “good” about the subject matter, I fear we will end up with a woefully uneducated generation in the future.

      Monsignor Pope cannot make anyone feel at home in our faith. Our feelings reside within us and are subject to our thoughts, actions, and wills. He simply does not posses such power over humanity. I have never seen him say anything against a person with same-sex attraction, only against the disordered acts that often accompany it.

      People who do not like hearing their actions are sinful, will often blame the messenger, rather than admit they know deep in their souls the Truth, as spoken in the bible. Guilt is funny that way.

    5. Michael Voris (a name that usually elicits strong response in the Catholic blogosphere) once said that, when nearing her death, his mother told him and his brother (then fallen away Catholics): “If you do not return to the church, you will end up in hell.” (a paraphrase, but I cannot find the original statement at this time)

      It was these words that began his return to the Faith. If those we love were about to fall off a cliff, wouldn’t we be neglectful for not stating their peril in the strongest terms possible?

  8. If my children heard these things from the priest at our church it would mean so much more to them than it coming from me. But alas… from the priest? I’m not holding my breath….

    1. I will tell you I have struggled with that reality for years. My children are almost adults and we have had to have long discussions about why they hear what they hear and what they do not hear from the priest at Mass and in programs set to teach the faithful. I can tell you I have learned to be a rock that stands between my children and the world, no matter who they are and let my kids know that truth is truth and they will encounter many who do not want to be clear about the truth. Yes it is difficult. Yet so is the calling to be a Christian, pick up the cross and follow me, cries our Lord. It is a fine line between having our children understand that no matter what, the ordained minister is to be honored even when he does not stand up for the truth due to whatever reason he does not. This is the greatest challenge we face as parents today. Yet to not pick up that challenge is to give your kids over to the enemy. So be brave and carry on!!!!

  9. Thank you for the confirmation found in this post. In support of the Gospels while being careful not to condemn the individual, I have spoken to my centers of influences in a truthful way regarding this topic.
    More prayers are needed for our leaders within the Church. I will re-commit to this important duty of ours.

  10. God bless you Monsignor Pope for your clarity on these matters! This clarity is much needed these days, when we hardly hear anything from the pulpit on these matters, and when there is so much ambiguity coming even from some member of the Church hierarchy. Again, God bless you for your courage in defending the truth of the faith!

  11. According to the media the Church now accepts heterosexual and homosexual sex outside of marriage. Cardinal Dolan will be leading the St. Pat’s Gay parade and the Pope will take no notice if you live together and have children before marriage………….and any Catholic who will not celebrate gay pride and co-habitation is a bigot.

  12. Best book to read on this subject (there are several good books) is Dale O’Leary’s (Dale is a woman) “One Man, One Women”. The recent book out by Robert Reilly is really a most thorough treatment of the subject, but because of that, it’s lot harder to get through than O’Leary’s book. Reading O’Leary’s book will give you everything you need to know.
    One thing that I don’t understand is that no one, and I mean no one, every describes homosexuality for what it truly is, a psychological disorder. No one is born gay. Do people not realize that or do people not have the courage to make that bold statement in the current culture such as it is? The psychological problems that are endemic to homosexuality complement the churches teaching perfectly and together make a very convincing argument. So, why am I the only person I ever hear saying starkly that homosexuals are sick human beings.
    The best website to dig deeper into the psychology of homosexuality is narth.com, The National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality.
    We need the courage to speak the complete truth, although I suppose, you need to do a bit of study before you speak up.

    1. The Psychological community at one time did state that homosexuality is a psychological condition, but changed their stance for political reasons. One of the psychologists who did this recently bemoaned his action stating that he had no idea what it would lead to.

      1. I knew a Psychiatrist who said the same thing; she also said “you can legislate morality” for political reasons, though eventually “the backlash will jump up and bite you.” The American Psychiatric Society voted to “make the abnormal normal’ by corrupting language, like the Caterpillar in “Alice in Wonderland”; and as decried by George Orwell in “Politics and the English Language.”

        Every specious appeal to “equality” in these pernicious rulings and laws can ultimately be traced, politically, back through the French Revolution to the deist “Age of Reason” which presents to each age the spirit of the antichrist in the latest fashion: “Man can be good without reference to God”; and “we can built utopia on earth by the power of human reason & will alone”.

  13. Your points would all be valid if we all subscribed to your ideology. But we don’t. So you can say anything you want. You can rail against us in the public square until you are blue in the face. I don’t care. What you DO NOT. Do. Not. Have the right to do in THIS country is to take your religious beliefs and enshrine them in CIVIL law. Civil. Law. You can hold whatever canonical laws within your church that you want. You can deny gay people the privilege of using your sanctuaries to celebrate their unions, you can excommunicate us from your churches, and you can deny us whatever other religious entitlements you choose to. But when you cross the line of civil versus religious you will lose. Every. Single. Time.

    1. The thing is, civil laws are man made and subject to flux. The “religious law” you rail against are natural moral laws revealed by God, enshrined in the human heart. The Church does not impose its own laws on society, it points out natural laws that when followed lead to man’s ultimate good and the good of society. You may rail against it and feel outraged about it, but consider the cost to yourself and to society. One must always be charitable and never judge another person, but it is not an act of mercy to permit a morally wrong act to be committed.

    2. Yes, you appear to be correct that we will lose. That does not mean we are wrong. It simply means there are more people in positions of power who subscribe to your false ideology than to the Truth. You can pretend to change the definition of marriage if you want; that doesn’t change its actual properties. The truth about marriage is not dependent on theological argument; it is apparent from human anatomy and natural law. The falsehood of your ideology will eventually become apparent to all, but likely not until after you have brought us all to an almost unfathomable low-point as a society.

      1. Like the proverb runs, “Right’s right if nobody’s right; wrong’s wrong if everyone’s wrong. It’s the nature of objective reality, which is out of fashion in our age of moral relativism.

    3. Dear Larry G,

      First of all, I pray for your cross of having same-sex attraction and I pray that the Holy Spirit helps you on your journey in this life to realize that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

      To comment, do you have the right to take YOUR religious beliefs and enshrine them into CIVIL law?

      Whatever one believes, they will want to get those beliefs into law. So, your comment is a philosophical conundrum. You criticize it, yet you are self-fulling your own criticism.

      You use the word “deny” so many times. But why are those that engage in “homosexual acts” DENYING LIFE? Why are they DENYING what NATURE has shown to be what sex is for? The homosexual movement is DENYING nature itself. The Catholic Church is not denying, the homosexual movement is the one denying logic, common sense and nature.

      Those with same-sex attraction are not excommunicated. Those with same-sex attraction have let “love” be their god. Love is not God and love is not love. God is love.

      I would ask that you take Msgr. Pope’s ideas and logically showing how “wrong” they are which is the point of a debate. Taking one’s ideas and proving the falsehood of them. You have not shown that, you have only shown that you “don’t care”. The irony is, that Msgr Pope, as I do, care about you to explain the Truth.

      Our Lady of Snows, pray for us.

    4. You act causes diseases, your act is destructive to society, and is it YOUR GOAL to promote this destruction in the classrooms?:

      “An estimated 90% of men who have sex with men (Homosexuals) and as many as 5% to 10% of sexually active women engage in receptive anal intercourse. .. The anus lacks the natural lubrication the vagina has. Penetration can tear the tissue inside the anus, allowing bacteria and viruses to enter the bloodstream. This can result in the spread of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Studies have suggested that anal exposure to HIV poses 30 TIMES MORE RISK for the receptive partner than vaginal exposure. Exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV) may also lead to the development of anal warts and anal cancer. Using lubricants can help some, but doesn’t completely prevent tearing. ..The tissue inside the anus is not as well protected as the skin outside the anus. Our external tissue has layers of dead cells that serve as a protective barrier against infection. The tissue inside the anus does not have this natural protection, which leaves it vulnerable to tearing and the spread of infection.” – WebMD.com

    5. My religious belief protect people from killing themselves physically and spiritually.
      Larry G, what you are promoting is DESTRUCTION to society.

      1. WOW, people have short term memories! Remember what happened to the homosexual community in the 80’s, they were devastated by AIDs?

    6. Your post simply, and willfully, sets aside the reality of civil law and history itself–the law is a reflection of the culture and, yes, religion informs that culture and its laws. All the emphasis on your part in the world won’t change that reality no matter how much you want to ban religion from the public square. It probably makes you feel good at the moment, but your feelings are transitory, and certainly of no consequence as to whether the state can (re)enact laws reflecting Christian (or other) moral laws.

      1. EVERY law is the imposition of someone’s morality. And homosexuals have no response to the natural law argument. Throw out faith and focus on the biological design of our sex organs and there is NO argument that counters what is plainly obvious in the biological design (or evolution, if you prefer).

    7. The essence of marriage is not contained in the civil law. The notion that it is, is a relatively modern invention.

      The more that marriage is regarded, and is made to function, as principally a matter of civil law, the more that marriage will decline and decay, as it has been for the last 50 years or so in the West. Modern attitudes toward marriage, as in the movement to radically redefine marriage, reflect this decline.

    8. The founders understood the need for religion and morality to be part of political dialogue. They did not want another Church of England, so they understandably separated Church and State. People today seem to think that means that religion and morality are not needed for governing. When laws are not grounded in natural law and Scripture, they start to shift away from promoting a common good and become influenced by whatever the fad of the time is.

      “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to
      subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens”
      -George Washington, Farewell Address

      “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.” -George Washington, Thanksgiving Address, 1789

  14. What does Jesus tell us?
    Mark 7:14 Hear me all of you, and understand there is nothing outside a man which going in him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him
    Mark 7:20 What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of a man, comes evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile man. [What is Jesus including under licentiousness?]

    We can conclude that Jesus is concerned about all types of sin including sexual sins. That in setting aside certain old testament dietary laws he was clear that what comes in to a man and passes out does not defile. This certainly does not apply to sexual sins as they come from man’s heart as Jesus states here. When some try to say Jesus does not specify homosexual acts therefore, they are permitted they prove too much. Where does Jesus specifically condemn rape, child abuse or many evils? Obviously it is reasonable to infer that Jesus condemns rape from his teachings but if only specific prohibitions apply rape would not be a sin. When Jesus is asked about divorce he starts with Genesis and that God made them male and female, that man leaves his family and is joined to his wife and let no man put asunder what God has joined he not only prohibits divorce he defines marriage. Mark 10:6

  15. Dear Mr. Pope,

    You have every right to believe as you do and to state it publicly, and I have every right to ignore your pretended authority and your viewpoint.

    I’ll tell you what: I won’t get married in a “Catholic” church, if you agree not to come to my wedding.

    1. News Flash: Why don’t you live in a real world and not in a delusional one, the Catholic Church cannot marry homosexuals, because the seed of life given by God cannot be ejaculated into the human waste!
      See, to misuse your sexual organs is a sin. Check out WebMD.com on anal sex. Get an education man!

      Now, why would the Msgr. come to your nutty “wedding”?

  16. John tells us not everything Jesus did or therefore taught was written down. One would have to be more than 2,000 years old and had to be with him 24 / 7 to know for sure that he approved of save sex marriage. As the Second Person of the Trinity, he would have also been speaking in the OT. Early Church Fathers disapproved of Homosexuality in general, thus it is more likely they reflected what Jesus taught. Also, Jesus clearly defines marriage between a Man and a Woman. Peter indicates that Paul’s writings are scripture, thus Romans 1 is still in force. The Holy Spirit is still working through the Church today. Good Article, Thanks Daniel As far as I know, no Jewish sect in Jesus’ day approved of homosexuality. Science today, has NOT proven that there is a homosexual orientation. If you read the reports by the researchers themselves, they admit that. A unnatural sexual attraction speaking creation wise is more likely in line with the flesh or sin nature in Gal 5.

    1. That is quite wrong about etiology of homosexuality. There is a growing consensus that there is a biological link to sexuality – hormones and early neurological development in the womb.

      There is a difference between hypothesis, proof, theory. Current hypothesis is standing up to scrutiny and testing. It may not hold forever. We may find another theory. But for now, one simply can’t state categorically that there is no biological link.

      1. Agreed, the Catechism sets aside the “origin” problem. Its like any temptation, wherever it comes from, one is required to resist the temptation to anger, or lust or drink etc.

        1. I know many heterosexual men who maintain that they are attracted to multiple women, that it is not a “choice” and that they object to the government preventing their ability to “marry” multiple women. There are others who would like to “marry” one of their parents or their siblings (use your imagination, the list could go on). And yet, civil law prevents such “marriages”. If those opposed to Msgr’s post are consistent, they should advocate the eradication of any government involvement in or sanction of “marriage”.

  17. http://everlastinghills.org is also a great insight into men and woman who have come out of the gay lifestyle and have found true fulfillment in chastity and The Church’s teachings. This was sponsored by Courage. All please pray for Courage’s efforts to achieve canonical status.

  18. Marriage between the same sex is a legal settled fact in many jurisdictions numbering many 100s millions of people. Common parlance would understand in those jurisdictions that marriage in those places includes same sex couples.

    If the Church wishes to retain its definition then you need to qualify marriage – holy matrimony for example.

    The Church quite happily coexists with multiple definitions, i.e. those in a civil marriage are ‘married’ but not in the eyes of the Church. Same with divorce and re-marriage. In time, it will be same with same sex marriage.

    1. You make me so sad. I envision so many people on the day of accounting for their actions having so much regret and thinking, “It would have been so simple to have just obeyed the Lord.”
      All of life is like a diet. It is simple to commit to a diet, it is in the day to day exercising that it becomes difficult. However, exercising does make one stronger in those areas.
      We pray for you every day.

    2. Same sex marriage is not a ‘fact’. It is an experiment. Based on promiscuity rates of the average homosexual, my bet is their divorce rate will be double that of heterosexuals and this experiment will be abandoned in just a few years. The impetus for this is not that they want to be married; it is that they want to be accepted. When getting ‘married’ does not lead to any further social acceptance, they will fail to see the need to get ‘married’.

  19. Thanks for the great article.
    One thing I’ve admired about the Catholic Church is that she is stead fast in her teachings even though there is massive public pressure on her.

    >Sadly those of unalterable same-sex attraction have no recourse to marriage.

    This line makes me a bit sad, since this is often the message I get from the Church. If you have same sex attraction then sorry, the only option for you is celibacy. Yet many people with same sex attraction have overcome there issues through therapy and have gone onto getting married and having kids. It would be great if the message that comes from Church would give more hope to those with same sex attraction; that there is the possibility of changing your inclinations. Dr Joseph Nicolosi is probably at the forefront of providing repartitive therapy services to those with un-wanted same sex attraction.

    I am one of those individuals with un-wanted same sex attraction and hope and pray that one day, if it is Gods will, to get married.

    1. God bless you, Eric! I will pray for you to achieve these goals if it is God’s will. There are some blogs out there written by faithful Catholic men and women who were (and still are, in some cases) same-sex attracted but who married opposite-sex people in the Church. Many of them say that while they are still attracted at times to people of their own genders, their love for their opposite-sex spouse and their desire to live according to God’s will give them strength in fighting against those moments of same-sex attraction. I think that my fellow Catholics who are SSA but who have picked up the cross of abstinence before (opposite-sex) marriage and chastity within it (for those who do marry) are examples of the power of Christ in us and of courageous and faithful witness we should all find inspiring!

      1. Eric, I urge you to read St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It so beautifully speaks to men and women, not just as married persons, but as wholly human beings.

        God does NOT make mistakes. It is my belief He made you with unique qualities that cannot be manifested in persons with opposite sex attraction. He made you beautiful, He made you for Himself.

        Chastity is not just for Priests and Nuns. It is possible for everyone who chooses to love the Lord before loving himself (or herself as the case may be). It is the highest form of love for God. It makes you special. It makes YOU special.

  20. This is all very fine as theology derived from the scriptures of a particular faith. I have no objection to your advocating these ideas far and wide among those who choose to listen, are persuaded adhere to your faith, and accept those particular scriptures as truth.

    What will never be acceptable, however, is running to the government and demanding that it use the power of the state to force all persons by law to live according to this theology. Just as the Church disapproves of straight couples obtaining civil divorces and counsels them against it, it can learn how to disapprove of gay couples obtaining civil marriages and counsel them against it instead of trying to use the civil law to override their will and impose a preferred course upon them. If the Church can’t learn that, then the word “intolerance” and all its uglier synonyms are perfectly apt descriptions.

    1. I understand your concern. My point here is essentially to set forth the “why” of Catholic teaching. However I don’t want to wholly give away any notion that civil Law has a role to play. Frankly every law enshrines some value or concern for how people live and act. That said, most law re “private” consensual sex would be hard to enforce. I do oppose redefining marriage but I’m not asking for lots of law regulating truly private behavior. But Marriage is not “private” behavior. It is a publicly acknowledged action which receives legal recognition. Therefore I think it is fair game to debate the role of law in the recognition and definition of marriage.

      1. Perhaps you disagree with your Church on this matter, but it has actively lobbied against basically every piece of reform legislation proposed over the last several decades, including decriminalization of private consensual sex as well as protection of gays and lesbians from hate crimes and even egregious workplace harassment. It has also lobbied against every effort to extend even the most basic and pedestrian of legal accommodations to same-sex couples, whether by civil marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or even without any relationship designation. It also routinely files legal briefs opposing basically any claim to equality or dignity that gays and lesbians bring. As I said, perhaps you disagree, but that is the continuing record of your Church.

        My point about civil marriage was not that ending the exclusion of same-sex couples is not appropriate for public debate. Of course it is. (Much of marriage law, however, is not about public activity, be it tax filings, protection against wrongful death, and countless other legal matters, all of which your Church vigorously opposes allowing same-sex couples to exercise.) My point is that when the only motivating rationale for civil discrimination is a desire to see one’s own theology imposed on everyone without their consent—and that, beneath the elaborate pretexts, is all the public debate is fundamentally about—that is incompatible with coexistence in a pluralistic, religiously diverse society. You are perfectly free to condemn same-sex civil marriages as sinful and are perfectly free to refuse to perform or recognize them in your religious undertakings. You cross the line of intolerance when, unsatisfied with the fruits of advocacy, you opt instead for legal coercion. That is my point.

        1. Please help me out. I do not have any desire to impose my religious beliefs on anyone. I too have a right to have a voice in the public square and to have influence over the laws that govern our society. How do we decide as a society where laws can come from? My political views and decisions are formed by the faith and a bnch of other stuff. As part of a civil society I need to accept and live by the laws off the land or work to affect change. I can choose to disobey laws I don’t agree with but must also accept the consequences. So what I hear in yoru comment is that becuase my views come from my fiath in part then I should not be allowed to influence the politcal process. That is inherintly unfair. help me out please.

        2. Steve, I would argue that the Church’s desire is the happiness and holiness of all people, including the societies of which those people (families) are the building blocks. Also, don’t you cross the line of intolerance by forcing other groups to be tolerant?

        3. The Church has always taught that civil law should, as far as possible, reflect Truth. The Church, just as any organization in this country, has the right of free speech including advocacy for positions that are often not popular, but which far more often than not turn out to be the way things should have been done. There is nothing “wrong” with the Chirch’s advocacy of its positions from any point of view (except for those biased against the Church in any case).

          If you can’t say to another honest person, “I may not agree with your beliefs, but I will defend to my death your right to hold and advocate them,” unless of course they’re advocating a system which suppresses free speech, then perhaps you should examine the basis under which you yourself claim free speech.

          Unless you believe that “some animals are more equal than others.”

    2. I’d also like to add that disciplines other than Theology (e.g.- philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc.) can, and frequently DO, lend force to the arguments that these so-called homosexual marriages can bring harm to the individuals who contract them, to the children they might raise, and to society at large. This is not to say that homosexuals should be singled out or held entirely culpable for the decay of values and for the disintegration of the fabric of our communities– there are many who should share accountability for that. No-fault divorce, for example, has caused significant, lasting damage to families.
      Heck, even PAGANS like Aristotle and Caesar Augustus understood the importance of promoting marriage and family life! As Emperor, Augustus made adultery illegal, he accorded special privileges to married couples who bore more than two children, and he even passed laws against promiscuity. And what happened? The Pax Romana. Peace. Prosperity. A time in history that is looked back upon as a golden age. So, while the wisdom of Sacred Scripture is indispensable, it isn’t the ONLY avenue by which we can arrive at these truths– that practices like homosexual unions, abortions, divorce, adultery, fornication, etc. can facilitate the demise of a society. It’s getting tiresome when people continue to pretend that those who object to redefining marriage are merely trying to “impose their religious beliefs” on all their fellow citizens.

    3. Steve you said: “You cross the line of intolerance when, unsatisfied with the fruits of advocacy, you opt instead for legal coercion. That is my point.”

      Guess what buddy? YOU CROSS THE LINE, when you and your liberal clones come into the PUBLIC classrooms and teach SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATIONS to the kids so they can get illnesses!

      Out right Disgusting!!!!

    4. There are laws against murder, yet people still murder.
      There are laws against stealing, yet people still steal.
      There are laws against lots of things which are not adhered to.
      So you say that since many people act upon homosexual attraction, that there should be no law against it?
      Why have any laws then? Only one law, “Everything is legal.”

  21. I agree with you Msgr. Pope. Thank you for speaking His truth and being a courageous priest. Jesus, we trust in You!

  22. Thank you Msgr. Pope for once again refusing to be scared or intimidated into silence. Your blog is refreshingly bold and straightforward. May God bless you for your witness, and may your detractors be blessed with the grace of conversion of heart.

  23. F r. Pope As a Theologian you know that Leviticus was dealing with Temple prostitution and Pagan rituals.

    Is the death penalty supposedly assigned to practicing homosexual males – though not among the Ten Commandments – somehow more important than the proscription in the Commandments against working on the Sabbath? Or perhaps more important than the death penalty assigned to someone who curses his/her parent (Leviticus 20:9) or who commits adultery (Leviticus 20:10)?

    This passage could fairly well be translated ‘If a man has sexual intercourse with another man in the bed of a woman (or as part of a cult-like ritual), the two shall be cast out of society.’ You can see how this would not appeal to rabid fundamentalists.

    Literalist fundamentalists also overlook the fact that, though there are many laws in Leviticus that limit female sexual behavior, female same-sex behavior is ignored here and everywhere else in Hebrew scripture (unless the text is mis-translated,

    In spite of the fact that the mistranslation of to’evah into English obscures the fact that these verses do not apply to a moral sin, at first glance (especially given the general unanimity of translations in basic meaning), the passages really seem to condemn gay behavior in the strongest possible terms. That a similar condemnation to death applies to disrespectful children is beside the point; the target audience is the people of Israel, and the subject is pagan shrine rituals, and the passages are simply irrelevant either to homosexual orientation or homosexual behavior in an age of grace under Christ.

    1. Porter – Homosexual conduct is a sin. The Church has held so for all of its existence. Your rationalization and twisted reading of scripture to fit your ideology are preposterous. But, I am sure you can’t see that.

  24. I’m wondering, if the church hadn’t enforced rules which excluded me because of a trait that made me different than the rest of the congregation, would I still be the same person I am today? Any feedback is warmly appreciated.

  25. Thank you, Msgr Pope. May God bless you and all priests with grace and holiness, and an everlasting crown in Heaven.

  26. Why must we all be constantly forced to read about Pope’s bizarre obsession with gay sex? Does he ever think about anything else? Why can’t he find something USEFUL to do with his time? Keep your sexual interests to yourself, Pope. Sheesh.

    1. This blog post was very useful. If you don’t find Msgr. Pope’s writings to be useful to you, perhaps you should pursue reading other blogs.

    2. No, Erick, keep you own obsession with the “gay sex’ PROMOTION filth to yourself.
      Why don’t you grow up and get an education.
      The good Msgr., is doing a PUBLIC HEALTH service.

      But you juvenile Eric, don’t seem to care about PUBLIC HEALTH. You Erick is a Typical Liberal Clone, usually liberal clones are into: porno, xbox, dancing with stars, the Kardashians, etc….

      Now Eric, don’t be promoting this filth in the classrooms so that kids can get HPV, HIV, AIDs! Okay troll? Now be a good little boy and check out WebMd.com on anal sex and you might learn that guys doing anal sex with guys are 30 TIMES MORE LIKELY to get deadly diseases.

      But, of course you don’t care because a typical boy like you will probably live in your mommy’s basement playing with the XBOX.

  27. If your parents where gay you would not be born. It is that simple.

    When you argue with a disordered person that supports the homosexual agenda they are arguing against
    their own existence – thus, an argument that is against itself. They are supporting the fact that
    they should not have been born in the first place so their position and argument is self defeating.

  28. Thank you, Msgr. Pope, for a very easy-to-understand piece on a divisive subject. I intend to print this off and keep copies with me to hand out when I encounter argument on this topic with other Catholics, or just in general. Sadly, such argument often occurs within my own extended family these days…and all of us are “cradle Catholics” and the product of at least 8 years of Catholic education…but most no longer have supernatural faith.

    God bless you, Msgr. Pope, and thank you for speaking the truth in love time and again. The often-seen-today idea of “love” being something that seeks only to make things easy or “nice” for someone while they walk on the earth is ludicrous; true love loves another into the greatest good — their eternal reward, speaking the truth even when the message may not be something the other wants to hear. There is nothing more important than the salvation of souls.

  29. I am delighted to see such definitive teaching, based on the unalterable truth of God’s Word. Better to be mocked, hated, or “socially wounded” (as someone said in a post) than damned.

    The sad truth, however, is that only a minority of Christians know God’s directives on these issues. Many Christians, even some entire denominations, have developed a theology centered on misguided interpretations of love and compassion that endorses sinful behavior. Others rest their eternal lives on the fuzzy Jesus that just wants us all to get along. I fear that even strong teaching by our Church will have no discernible effect on public policy and discourse. Sin has taken a strong, strong hold on the Western world. Part of me wants to focus on my own life and my family’s – the only part of my life over which I have some control.

    1. I feel your pain!
      But this verse scares me:

      “When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.” Ezekiel 3:18

      Ezekiel 3 – The Watchman’s Responsibility. Watch on youtube:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2h7B9bt9Ds

    2. “Better to be mocked, hated, or “socially wounded” (as someone said in a post) than damned.” If only we had more bishops and priests who acted this way. I suppose they rationalize their own behavior but I honestly believe they are afraid to take a firm stand. Afraid they will be chastized by their superiors. Afraid their congregation will rebel agains them. Afraid they will end up looking out at a church full of empty pews.

  30. Thank you, Msgr. for an excellent article, “…to instruct on this matter and to reassert what Scripture plainly teaches and why the Church cannot affirm what the world demands we affirm.”
    You plainly explain what Scripture teaches (Hebrew Scripture and Christian Scripture) and why the Church (us) cannot affirm what the world demands we affirm.
    We have our beliefs, and if others demand acceptance and approval of their actions that we cannot accept, then they become angry at us and try to force us by legal means to deny our beliefs.
    Where is the justice in this? Especially from those who claim to be strong proponents of justice (especially for themselves, apparently not for those who disagree with them).
    May God continue to bless you with the strength to uphold the teachings of our Mother Church and the wisdom to teach us in straightforward language.
    You are a great blessing to us who struggle in defending our Faith.

  31. LGBT Catholics who would rather not be abused by their church might instead turn to the Episcopal Church or the United Church of Christ or another denomination that believes LGBT people are created by God in God’s image and thus don’t need to be ashamed of being LGBT or of expressing their love sexually.

    Or LGBT Catholics could think about whether there really is a God and get out from under religion altogether. Sure, you can find some good people in churches, but you can also lead complete and happy lives without religion. Then people like Msgr. Pope might have time to focus on things about which Jesus (if he existed) actually spoke, such as helping the poor.

    1. But is teaching a form of abuse, or are you just defining abuse to mean saying what you don’t want to hear? By the way I have talked a lot about the poor. How dare you make a personal accusation like that, you don’t even know me.

      1. Thank you, Monsignor. I was raised in a gay family. It is not all rainbows and parades.

        Anal sex is not love. It is yucky sex trash and dirty sheets.

        Thank you for telling the truth. You are helping people like me escape the “rainbow” just a little bit by telling the truth and having the guts to publish it on your blog.

    2. Now tell me…why do you want to promote sodomy so people can get diseases?
      Check out WebMd.com on anal sex and get an education liberal.

  32. David Lauri has a personal agenda and is really not interested in dialogue, Msgr. We can pray for him, as well as those who also try to use your blog and others like it to espouse their grievances.

  33. Hi. Regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, I found a long discussion of how Genesis chapter 19 has almost certainly suffered from a mis-translation of one word (“yada”) from its usual meaning of “to know (intellectually)” to the much more rare usage of “to know (sexually)”. This mis-translation brings up many, many problems in the text if you think about it. How could the whole town be gay? Why were Lot’s daughters engaged to gay men? Why was Gomorrah destroyed even though only Sodom sinned? Why didn’t God or the angels try to find 10 good men as explicitly discussed by God and Job at the end of chapter 18? Why would God’s angels prefer to spend the night in the street and thus blatantly tempt the men to sin? Why does Ezekial 16:49-50 explicitly say: “[49] Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. [50] They were haughty and did detestable things before me.”

    The discussion is very long, but I find it to be very, very persuasive. You can find it at:

    http://www.kencollins.com/bible/bible-ii3.htm

    The sad thing is that mis-interpreting the story leads to unfounded judgement and discrimination, while also missing the beautiful point it is trying to make (that God will save the righteous even from the midst of evil).

    Thanks!

    1. Wow, so God will save the “righteous guys” ejaculating the seed of life into the feces?

      The very seed of life…….that creates the temple of God?

      Ken, you live in darkness!

      Please spare me your laughable theology on Sodom and Gomorrah, people who know the Bible will not be duped by you.

    2. Bunk! I assume you are not Catholic. Because if you were Catholic, the fact that the Church has always defined homosexual conduct as sinful would be all you need. That’s because Catholics know that the Church cannot teach error on matters of faith and morals. So you must realize that your position rejecting the Church’s teaching authority on a settled matter is so very un-Catholic. Assuming you are not Catholic, do you realize that homosexual conduct was uniformly condemned as sinful for the entire history of Judaism and Christianity until yesterday? So you are saying the Holy Spirit allowed this error to pervade in the Church for 2,000 + years? Your desperation and rationalization are palpable.

  34. Bravo, Monsignor! Perhaps you could send this to some of our church leaders who appear to need some brushing up on Christ’s clear teaching?

    Keep up the great work!

  35. Thank you Msgr. Charles Pope for a very clear teaching of what the Catholic Church has been mandated by God to bring to the world. Now, if only Cardinal Timothy Dolan would declare same in New York City and refuse to march in St. Patrick’s Parade with homosexuals flying their own flag! What a scandal, what a dishonor to St. Patrick! What an abomination before the Face of the Living God, Our Lord Jesus Christ!

  36. I am always curious why no one ever mentions the parts of the Gospel where Jesue refers to the destroyed city of Sodom, as in Luke 17 28 “Likewise,also as it was in the days that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” There is also another part of the Gospel where Jesus is rebuking unbelevers and says to paraphase, that even Sodam as bad as it was, if it saw the works which you have seen would have repented. In other words Sodom is given as an example of the most sinful.So Jesus does give us his view on homosexuality, but amazingly offers forgiviness through repentence.thank you Msg. Pope for providing much needed clarity.

  37. Well if one is damned – so be it. I lived in fear of that for too many years.

    Then the ‘higher gift’ was sent my way to cast it out – your fear mongering ways.

    I wish ‘straight’ people and the celibate priesthood would clean up their own acts ‘fore casting stones.

    You can bang away with your big fear stick all you like and need. I will never get to heaven walking backwards out of hell. I doubt some of you will make that journey either.

    One thing I am thankful for – that I don’t live in America.

    Your politics pollute everything – including the Altar. That’s the real sacrilege.

      1. Not dramatic at all. The predatory behavior of priests goes way back. Check out the origins of the word pfaffenkind – it dates from reformation Germany. And the higher ranking prelates playing hide the predator are just as complicit in their guilt.

        Clean up your own house and then maybe we can talk.

        1. Stephen,

          Here is the problem. You liberal need to get an education.
          According to the Jon Jay College of Criminal Justice Report (this is the fact- you get that liberal?):

          80% of the sexual abuses happened in the 1950’s -1980’s. The sexual abuses were SAME-SEX ABUSES on young men (ages:13-18). So homosexual men should have never entered the priesthood.
          Get the facts Stephen, then we can really talk about THE TRUE “PREDATOR.”

    1. Martin,

      Look my friend, I have never seen an ex-Chinese in my life, but I have seen an ex-gay walking on planet earth.
      Be strong, seek help, don’t give in to temptations, other people did it!
      Watch the ex-gays on Youtube.

      Now, the real sacrilege is two guys ejaculating the seed of life given by God into the human waste!

  38. Monsignor, might you write a piece which can help explain why the ‘sin’ of clerics abusing children/vulnerable persons is on a par with ordaining women according to Canon Law ?

    Now if that’s not, as Mister Spock would say, “Illogical” – I dunno what is. Not to mention – truly dis ordered and diabolical.

    I would also love to see you show exactly how and where the Church supports survivors. I believe that to be, in part at least, because clerics don’t know how to look after themselves and/or support each other.

  39. Fore I go. Leave your text in the coffin of the next young gay person who suicides and ask his mother to read it.

    Hopefully she’ll put you where you belong. Light a bonfire with it and shove you on top.

    You wanna dish it out. You are gonna get it thrown right back as real as it gets.

    I’ve seen and worked with as real as it gets too.

    I am annoyed that I even let people like you, as wholly insensitive, inhumane as you are – annoy me.

    Maybe God won’t forgive me but I hope and pray He forgives you.

    Ciao

    1. WOW, self-mastery/self control is just too much for some people!

      Martin,

      Ex-gays are everywhere on Youtube. How is that possible????

      If you are suicidal then seek help, seek the Lord first! No don’t let the devil win!

  40. And this attitude is one reason why the church becomes less relevant with each passing year.

      1. Mmmm, but I read somewhere recently that for every one convert to the Catholic church there are three leaving. The young are leaving in droves and the churches attitude to those with same sex attraction is often cited as one of the reasons they find the church repugnant.

  41. Monsignor, would you also write on sins of scandal and how to navigate the waters where homosexuality is celebrated in our society, at social events, public displays, parades and so forth?

  42. Martin, weather you like it or not, you are one that I sacrifice for. Sixteen years of grace filled celibacy. This having lived a life of same=sex attraction most of my adult life, until 1998, 21 years with the same partner, whom until his death in 2009, was my greatest defender, allowing, encouraging me to live my Catholic faith.Yes, and I would defend my choice, even unto death. Could you? Inhumane, really? Take a really long look at yourself, and reflect on who is in-human, spiritually speaking.

  43. Wow. I have seen so much anger in the posts to this blog! No one wants to be told “what to do.” Like toddlers, there is wailing and gnashing of teeth at the mere thought that the bible (the Lord) does not condone homosexual acts (or extra-marital sex acts for that matter).

    Ok, first point. Science. Let’s take a look. Everything (and I mean everything) on this earth that is alive is designed to procreate – to reproduce, from the smallest amoeba, to the largest tree. Sorry folks. The earth speaks the Truth of the Lord. We must re-produce. Nature demands it. The same Nature created by God.

    Homosexual liasons CAN NOT EVER

  44. Sorry, computer problems. Wish I could join this to my previous post (if it’s possible, please do so!)

    Homosexual liaisons CANNOT EVER naturally result in a child born of that union. It is IMPOSSIBLE without human intervention. This human intervention can be medical, or an objectified heterosexual act with a willing participant. Such an act diminishes the partner to a thing, a commodity. That is inhumane.

    Second point – Logic. All the science in the world, combined with logic, points to the fact that man and woman are created for each other, not themselves.

    Ok, so then we look at the bible, the Word of God (which was made flesh and dwelt among us…ahem). Pretty much dovetails the science and logic.

    Look folks, we live in a world where we are bombarded with being told how we deserve to be happy. We then often use any means necessary to achieve this promised happiness. And then, the shame spiral when it all falls apart. The emptiness that eats away at us. The longing for something “more”.

    The fact of the matter is, we were made by God for God and those who choose another path will struggle and will suffer. Those who choose the path of God will still suffer, but will be comforted, will be assisted.

    Monsignor Pope has done an excellent job instructing and identifying what the bible says. He has not condemned anyone, he has not insulted anyone. You may feel those things. But that’s all about you, not him.

  45. Thank you Msgr Pope. And thank you for the example of your calmness and charity in dealing with some of the comments here.

  46. Msgr Pope,

    This was one of your best, if not your very best post. We very infrequently hear the teachings that we need to hear from the pupit- too many pastors are afraid to alienate their congregation. Too politically incorrect, and against the whole ‘Big Tent’ thing.

    Thanks for having the guts to preach the gospel.

    1. Do you really think mainstream Catholics want to listen to their pastor lecture about gay sex? What kind of a congregation do you attend? Bizarre.

  47. Thank you, Monsignor. Jesus did not talk about incest either but that is obviously not ok. God bless.

  48. For those who are interested Cardinal Dolan just released a response to his critics of his decision to be Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick’s Parade which will include the gay group OutNBC with its banner. His defense can be found on his Facebook page. He says the group and its banner is not promoting sinful actions but rather just identifying themselves as gay people and as such such just being gay is not a sin.

    1. @Anne: Good to know. I’ve lately been torn between what CMTV (Michael voris) thinks and what some of my friends think about Dolan in this case.

      1. I work in faith formation at my parish and the social and moral issue of engaging in same sex relationships is the hot issue with teens. Most of our teens believe homosexual people are “born that way”, because they have received virtually no education from the Church other than the Church is against gay marriage. The only education they receive is from television, movies, media, and the government propaganda.

        Some of our students are experimenting to discover what they are. Others are being propositioned and groomed in their schools by practicing gay and lesbian students.

        I have always understood that anyone who uses the term “gay”, automatically means the person is practicing or supporting same sex relationships. When you use the word “homosexual” it may mean orientation. So if the parade has groups carrying signs like “gay pride”, this would mean to most people that they support a gay lifestyle and marriage etc. which is so contrary to our faith and scandalous to the faithful.

        It would be much better to cancel the parade and hold a special holy hour of prayer in the cathedral to atone for our sins as a Church and a people of God. We must love “gay” people enough to let them know that we love them to much to support a lifestyle which will eventually destroy body and soul. I am a nurse who took care of Aids patients and it is not a pretty way to die. Most of all I watched gay young men full of self hatred and self loathing die without peace and I do not wish this on anyone.

        As the true Church we must stop playing games with peoples salvation and start bringing Christ to the world.

    2. Being Gay is not a sin. But having Homosexual lustful thoughts are and with that it is a disorder and should be renounced by the person just as all Catholics renounce Satan at baptism. Being Gay is not a normal sexualality it goes against the divine law of nature. God did not take a rib out of Adam and creat Steve. We really shouldn’t even be discussing this because it only logic if anyone has any spirituality that being Homosexual is a disorder that needs to be repressed through spiritual combat and prayer and fasting. Renouncing it is the first step not promoting it in a parade that is suppose to be Catholic not a Macy’s Patrick parade! What has gone wrong in the Catholic Church. There is a full court press against the Catholic Family and the destruction of Catholic children. Catholic Families are breaking up look at all the divorced Catholics because they follow the way of the world which leads to disaster. It’s time for Clerics to teach that it’s not good to sin instead of making excuses for the sinner. Hate the sin but not the sinner is quiet foolish it’s like sending the crime to prison not the criminal it just complete nonsense. Thank you Monsignor Pope for all you are doing for the Holy Church and my heart goes out to you and to every Catholic who is disgusted in what they are seeing in the Catholic Church.

    3. Well, this Cardinal Dolan is an interesting character isn’t he? The committee that set up the St. Patrick’s Parade WILL NOT allow Pro-life group to march according to Reuters News:

      “The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights said it pulled out of the March 2015 event because the parade committee denied an anti-abortion [Pro-life] group from marching with banners while bending its rules to allow the gay group to do so, League President Bill Donohue said in a statement:

      ‘For the past two decades I have been the parade’s most vocal defender of its rules,’ Donohue said. ‘Repeatedly, I have said that gays have no more been banned from marching than pro-life Catholics have.’ ”

      So Cardinal Dolan will not stand with Pro-life folks?

      I guess living in New York is tough for the Cardinal, I guess the pressure is too much for him.

  49. Thank you very much Monsignor Pope for writing the beautiful truth. I wonder why people forget this: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

  50. Let us pray with thanks for our brother Msgr. Pope – subject here (and I’m sure elsewhere) to abuse for daring to speak the truth.

  51. Thank you for speaking with courage and clarity. Sadly, I have never heard a Sunday sermon such as this, nor have my children. My question is why do we never ever hear anything remotely like this from the pulpit?

  52. Homosexuality has taken over the world. This has become the new fad of the times. We see it through our worldly politicians who some are Catholic who do not tend to the Churches teachings. We see it in Hollywood which is the world’s propaganda machine. We see it in sports Homosexual athletes coming out of the wood work. The innocent children being taught Homosexality and Transgender in the schools before puberty. We see it when Catholic Priests come out of the wood work and declare they are Homosexuals, as if we are expected to believe that one of the twelve Apostles were Homosexual. Unfortunately we see it in the crises with Homosexual priest raping young boys in the Church with a wink of the Bishops and the now the blah blah about Stopping these horrendous crimes against innocent children is just that blah, blah. Bishops who are Homosexual are still allowing Homosexuals in the seminaries to become Homosexual Priests. One of these Bishops is Cardinal Dolan of NYC who has allowed Homosexuals in the seminary and no has allowed Homosexuals in the St. Patrick’s Parade. Card. Dolan is celebrating this to the whole Church! Promoting Homosexuality in the Catholic Church. Again we find errors to those clergy who want to be part of the world like Cardinal Dolan. He wants to mingle with the powers of the world and be the forerunner spokesman for the Catholic Church. We see this again and again seemingly apologizing for what us Catholics believe in and we as Catholics are suppose to despise the world because Satan is the prince of the world. Homosexuals who want to be in the Church have to renounce their Homosexuality and to lead a pure life, not to continue in their sinful habitual ways promoting a sin the calls vengeance from almighty God against the Catholic Church and the world. Time is running out and our Blessed Lady warned us on how many occasions Fatima, Le Salette, and Lourdes yet it falls on deaf ears of the Catholic Clergy. instead it’s throw out Tradition of the Holy Church because it’s not compatible to the modern times and Homosexuality which has been running amuck in the Dioceses across the world. May God Help us overcome this evil that has entered the Holy Church!

  53. GOD Bless you, Monsi. You have received the vilest of flacks from these groups of people who do not want to accept the teachings of the Church and JESUS CHRIST. At least you told the Truth and plant the seed. Let the HOLY SPIRIT do the convicting that even one soul who repents will make the angels rejoice. As for my brothers and sisters who do not accept the teaching, I pray for your enlightenment. Go deeply unto your souls and you will know that there is more to life of what you are misguidedly experiencing now. You were created in the image and likeness of GOD and deep within you, if you will only listen deeply, your soul is grieving even if outwardly you show happiness. Your soul does not seek for happiness (gay?!?!) no, no, no. Your soul seeks joy, a deep joy you can only find in the Grace of GOD. I offer my pains and sufferings and sorrows that you may find and know The Way, The Truth and The Life. Have Mercy, Oh LORD, have Mercy.

  54. As a member of Courage I am grateful for this organization that encourages and supports us,who struggle with SSA, in following Christ’s teachings through scripture and His church. We, who have chosen to live this life of celibacy, carry a heavy cross. Having the support of other men and women, the church, her priests and our Pope makes the cross a little lighter.
    I strongly encourage anyone who believes the truth that we are taught but feels alone in their desire and effort to live according to that truth to go to the courage website.
    Thank God for Courage and for our Holy Catholic Church.

  55. Whatever the truth of this blog, it must be a very narrow gate you envision into heaven. To condemn a tiny minority who through no fault of their own are homosexual and are unchaste to the same eternal fate as Stalin, Pol Pot, muslim extremists revelling in their atrocities, premeditated murderers, and rapists, seems to me to unbalanced. The fixation in this blog with sex also seems to me unbalanced, when there are so many other higher-order problems. Not having a Pope fixated on the issue is refreshing. But so many others in the church still seem to want to talk about nothing else.

      1. God said a lot more than just about gays. Adultery was mentioned in the bible about 60 times as much. Why aren’t you pushing for divorce to be made illegal and adultery criminal?

        Why are you so obsessed with gays when all are sinners?

        1. You obviously don’t read this blog and are therefore making a foolish point. I have written extensively on these points. I am not obsessed. Please avoid foolish, impertinent and inaccurate statements. A simple look back over the years of this blog show how baseless your remark is.

      2. There are many other things you could be quoting from God. It’s the harping on this issue by so many as if it were the only one that is my point.

          1. Monsignor, your nay-sayers and attackers are missing a crucial point: there is nothing sinful whatsoever about being subjected to sexual temptations of ANY kind–whether for masturbation, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, group sex, serial rape & killing, or anything else for that matter. Even the most hideous, unwelcome, intense temptations.
            Where sin enters into the picture is when the person fails to reject the temptation and instead begins to enter into it. Where sin becomes fulfilled or completed is when not only are the temptations engaged with (not rejected, worked through, discredited & then discarded), but when one plans on carrying them out, and in fact actually does so.
            Your nay-sayers & attackers appear to have no conception that if one is subject to serious temptation, fights against it and wins over it, that person has not only not sinned at all–but instead, he/she has gained great merit in the eyes of the living God. There are any number of scripture quotes to that effect.
            There is also a quotation somewhere in scripture to the effect that one of the reasons God permits temptations is to see whether it ever was the person’s intention to obey Him, in the first place.

    1. We don’t fixate on these issues, they are thrown in our face. Are we to ignore the request to act against our faith? In the US this issue is the one that is used most often to entrap faithful Christians into sidelining our beliefs or be made an example of in the courts of law (besides the contraception mandate). There is a movement among the militant LGBT groups to weed out and target anyone who will not support their idea of “marriage equality”. We don’t pick these fights. They are brought to our door and we have to address it to all the faithful so they know where the church stands since so many are poorly catechized. The LGBT just can’t move on and let us live our faith as we believe because we know from scripture that it wrong and that is (or should be) preached from the pulpit to save souls. They won’t be happy until they can use the force of law to silence anyone who doesnt think like they do. And we are to remain silent?

    2. Matthew 7:13 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Those are Jesus’ words.

    3. Peter Jay: “There are many other things you could be quoting from God. It’s the harping on this issue by so many as if it were the only one that is my point.”

      So what do you want talk about? The time of day Jesus took out the trash?
      The Kardashians, XBOX, Your favorite Porno star, Dancing with Stars?

      What do you liberal troll (who knows NOTHING about MORAL THEOLOGY) want to talk about???

      We are not school children, if you don’t want to mature then go play in the play ground with the 5 yr. old.

      We are here to discuss the LIFE and DEATH issues.

      The Msgr. is right you are ‘foolish’

      Gay sex is deadly: physically and spiritually!

      Get inform liberal troll:

      “An estimated 90% of men [homosexuals] who have sex with men and as many as 5% to 10% of sexually active women engage in receptive anal intercourse. .. The anus lacks the natural lubrication the vagina has. Penetration can tear the tissue inside the anus, allowing bacteria and viruses to enter the bloodstream. This can result in the spread of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Studies have suggested that anal exposure to HIV poses 30 TIMES MORE RISK for the receptive partner than vaginal exposure. Exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV) may also lead to the development of anal warts and anal cancer. Using lubricants can help some, but doesn’t completely prevent tearing. ..The tissue inside the anus is not as well protected as the skin outside the anus. Our external tissue has layers of dead cells that serve as a protective barrier against infection. The tissue inside the anus does not have this natural protection, which leaves it vulnerable to tearing and the spread of infection.” – WebMd.com

  56. I look forward for the future teachings.. We are destined to repeat our sins if no admonishments or alternatives are not taught nor
    exampled..
    .Blessings on your teachings, God’s teaching:…in season and out.

  57. Dear Msgr. Pope,

    Thank you so much for your service to the Church! Your clear and sound exposition of authentic Church doctrine is both informative to those whose knowledge is deficient (in some respects, myself included!) and reassuring to those who already know (in some respects, myself included)–it is truly a balm to the soul to hear the truth, and not a deafening silence or worse, from our pastors.

    I have a question which relates to this blog and the previous (I tried to use your “ask a question” button, but got a 404 error message):

    If the upcoming synod ends up, in the name of “mercy,” permitting, or perhaps commanding, priests to distribute communion to members of the congregation who are obstinately and publicly sinning against the sixth commandment by cohabitating outside of marriage, on what possible grounds can communion be denied to such cohabitators when they are of the same sex? Isn’t this–i.e., a liturgical and thus practical or de facto public condonement of sodomy and sapphism–the obvious and inevitable next step of such a “merciful” pastoral approach?

    Thank you again,

    Joseph Haggarty

  58. Good article Msgr. Pope and thanks, but I would like to hear included in the “what’s wrong with homosexuality” list the argument that homosexuality causes abortions. I believe it does because homosexuality (sterile sex) reinforces the contraceptive mentality. There are strong similarities between contraceptive sex and homosexuality. Sex should be considered sacred because of its human consequences.

  59. I cannot eat red meat or drink red wine without negative consequences to my body. If I do, I pay for it dearly, definitely by the next day. So, I have to abstain from them, which is difficult because I enjoy them, but I can’t.
    Alcoholics have to make a life time commitment to avoiding alcohol, and they do this through a Twelve Step program based on surrender to God, and a fearless inventory of their lives along with the support of a sponsor and their peers who are likewise committed to sober living. They celebrate each year of sobriety, but always acknowledgin their powerlessness over alcohol (or other addictive drugs) and admit that they are alcoholics, but sober now, one day at a time. Sexual expression can be addictive, one can get addicted to certain forms of sexual expression that are illicit, so one needs to abstain, avoid the near occasions of sin (persons, places or things which lead them into that sin), and get help … professional and from peers who are successfully overcoming that addiction. We all have our crosses to bear, we all have to abstain from those things that are destructive to body and soul, no matter how tempting or pleasurable they may seem. We need to realize, that we are created by God, loved by Him and called to holiness, living our lives here on earth to be in communion with Him and the saints (living and those who have passed on), so that we may be with HIm forever. He desires our communion, He desires our salvation, He desires us to spend eternity with Him and our family, the Body of Christ. It requires our consent, our wholehearted yes to be with Him now and eternity. “If you love Me, keep my commandments,” Jesus said.

  60. Thanks again Msgr Pope.

    I always found Christ’s words in Luke 10:1-16 telling. This is exactly what Msgr Pope is doing here, teaching the Word of God. Listen how Christ tells the teachers to wipe off their feet and leave town if they don’t listen.

    In Luke 10:12 Christ states rejection of his word is the ultimate sin followed by the sins of Sodom. It is one thing to commit sexual sin, repent, and avoid future sin and the other side where you promote, teach it as a good, work to legislate it or plain support it by tolerating it (banner /parade it). That is a complete rejection of Christ.

    LUKE 10
    The Seventy Sent Out
    1Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11’Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
    13″Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
    The Happy Results
    16″The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

  61. Does Cardinal Dolan really regard the majority of Catholics as terminally naive? Or is it that His Eminence is the one who is terminally naive? Anne informs us that: “[Cardinal Dolan] says [OutNBC] and its banner are not promoting sinful actions but rather identifying themselves as “gay” people and as such, being gay is not a sin”. There has been a well-orchestrated campaign, principally utilising the mass media, to not just promote, but demand acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle and all that it involves that is, sexual perversions of the vilest kind. It is now not just “tolerated” and accepted, but exalted and actively propagandised among young children, even of kindergarten age. The “marriage equality” lie is not about “equality” it is about the total destruction of marriage and the family as the solid, God-given foundation of human society. “OutNBC” are active and zealous contributors to this intensifying attack on Christianity, which they regard as the ultimate foe that must at all costs be overcome; defeated, consigned to oblivion. Why else would Out NBC or any other homosexual “rights” group want their homosexuality to be paraded at such an event, especially one led aby a Prince of the Church. As you Americans say; “Wake up and smell the coffee”.

  62. I’m one of those Catholics who is pretty silent on this issue like a lot of my Catholic brothers and sisters. It is very hard to be vocal for some of us, and it gives the perception that we are divided within the church on this issue. But I think that in reality a lot of Catholics allow themselves to become roadkill under the wheels of the massive homosexual juggernaut simply because we realize that we live in very, very glass houses. So many of us are hooked on pornography, or gluttonous, or selfish and angry inside, ad infinitum. When it comes to throwing stones, a lot of us remain silent because of our own guilt. The homosexual agenda is wise enough to use this against us, But we are , at the same time, attentive insofar as we are seeing our personal freedom infringed upon by the homosexual revolution in a way that we have not seen before, and we see our beautiful church, so empty on Sundays, striving to care for us still, through thick and thin. I hope God gives us, the silent ones on this issue, the courage to stand strong despite our own past. And best of all, we can take solace in two things: our church will never fall (this, according to Jesus), and, in the end, all the sin -yours, mine, his, hers- throughout all history is nothing more than a grain of sand in the ocean of God’s mercy. Hallelujah.

  63. I didn’t read all the comments but isn’t it the homosexuals and the like, pushing us to accept. We are all asked to remain pure and chaste in whatever our calling is in life. And yes we are not to judge heaven or hell on them but we can judge the action. What bothers me is when the leaders of the Catholic Church say we are not to judge….what did Jesus say to the adulterer….Neither do I judge, “GO AND SIN NO MORE”. And she became a faithful follower of Jesus. Why is it that those who are okay with the homosexual life style forget that very important phrase…for every word Jesus spoke is as important as the other.

  64. Excellent article!

    May the Almighty God have mercy on all of those who experience same sex attraction and especially on those who are practicing homosexual acts since as the article says they are in deep intellectual stubbornness and darkness.

    Mary refuge of sinners pray for us!

    Thank you Msgr. Charles Pope!

  65. Another thing the militant LGBTQ agenda wilfully ignores is the situation of married Catholics who are living out celibacy for years or even decades at a time, within the context of married life. I know. I have lived this celibate life myself for many, many years now as my husband is disabled. I have made peace with this situation, and I have any number of friends who have had to face the same cross in life.
    Nowhere in the Bible, Catholic tradition, or anyplace else does it say that everyone in the married estate (or any other) is 100% assured of living a life of total sexual bliss every day, all day, all the time. The only guarantee any of us get from the Bible or Catholic tradition is that no one is denied sufficient grace for salvation.
    Every single person is called to chastity according to one’s state in life, No exceptions. You can either deal with this now, work through this issue now, or refuse, and find yourself one day explaining your life to Jesus Christ at your particular judgment. His entire life was not exactly the life of Riley, either.

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