Pope says Church should ask forgiveness from gays for past treatment
Look, the facts are not in dispute:
(a) The Bible, in several places, either states or implies that homosexual practices are seriously "sinful," or against God's laws. No need to document them here. No Pope can change Scripture.
(b) No one can be faulted for having an inclination to sin. Everyone is inclined to sin.
(c) There is no Biblical or moral (or even ethical) principle that legitimately claims that everyone has a "God-given" right to a desired form of sexual congress with any class of people. Single people have no moral right to copulate with anyone, regardless of gender. Married people have no moral right to copulate with anyone other than their spouse, no matter how much they "love" the person, or even if the spouse refuses to have sex. The fact that such copulation may be "harmless" does not really carry the moral argument.
(d) A person who is an "avowed" or "open" homosexual, or who is openly living in a homosexual relationship, is not only committing moral transgressions ("sins"), but is overtly proclaiming an intention to continue with that sinful behavior. It is this overt intention that makes it impossible for the RC Church to accept such people as members in good standing (specifically, able to receive Holy Communion), because even if past sins are told in confession, there is no intention to "sin no more," which is a prerequisite to obtaining absolution.
(e) Unlike other religions (e.g., the U.S. Episcopal Church), Catholics cannot vote to repeal longstanding moral principles based on Scripture. Thus, "practicing" homosexuals can NEVER be members-in-good-standing of the Catholic Church.
(f) There is nothing genetic that forces homosexuals to adopt the affectations that many of them do. It is entirely a form of "advertising" one's homosexuality. Thus, if a homosexual wants to go to Church, or even join a parish, based on a personal decision to ignore the Church's teachings on same-sex sodomy, there is nothing preventing him from doing so. In fact, he would be welcomed by the parish community, most of which is Leftist, and even if his sexual orientation were to become known to many individuals, it would make no difference.
(g) The rules for Lesbians are the same, but probably don't apply as broadly. For many lesbians, especially the ones over 50, sexual activity is sporadic or non-existent, and the fact that two women are living together is not particularly significant, morally speaking.
The Church don't need to apologize for nothing. If a Church official publicly states that homosexual sodomy is a "Mortal Sin" that is immoral and prevents the person from being truly a Roman Catholic...well, if the truth hurts you, that's your problem not the Church's problem. Anyone coming into a Church and acknowledging homosexual intentions, but manifesting a desire to remain celibate, will be welcomed with open arms. There are such people, but you don't read about them in People Magazine.
Sorry.
Look, the facts are not in dispute:
(a) The Bible, in several places, either states or implies that homosexual practices are seriously "sinful," or against God's laws. No need to document them here. No Pope can change Scripture.
(b) No one can be faulted for having an inclination to sin. Everyone is inclined to sin.
(c) There is no Biblical or moral (or even ethical) principle that legitimately claims that everyone has a "God-given" right to a desired form of sexual congress with any class of people. Single people have no moral right to copulate with anyone, regardless of gender. Married people have no moral right to copulate with anyone other than their spouse, no matter how much they "love" the person, or even if the spouse refuses to have sex. The fact that such copulation may be "harmless" does not really carry the moral argument.
(d) A person who is an "avowed" or "open" homosexual, or who is openly living in a homosexual relationship, is not only committing moral transgressions ("sins"), but is overtly proclaiming an intention to continue with that sinful behavior. It is this overt intention that makes it impossible for the RC Church to accept such people as members in good standing (specifically, able to receive Holy Communion), because even if past sins are told in confession, there is no intention to "sin no more," which is a prerequisite to obtaining absolution.
(e) Unlike other religions (e.g., the U.S. Episcopal Church), Catholics cannot vote to repeal longstanding moral principles based on Scripture. Thus, "practicing" homosexuals can NEVER be members-in-good-standing of the Catholic Church.
(f) There is nothing genetic that forces homosexuals to adopt the affectations that many of them do. It is entirely a form of "advertising" one's homosexuality. Thus, if a homosexual wants to go to Church, or even join a parish, based on a personal decision to ignore the Church's teachings on same-sex sodomy, there is nothing preventing him from doing so. In fact, he would be welcomed by the parish community, most of which is Leftist, and even if his sexual orientation were to become known to many individuals, it would make no difference.
(g) The rules for Lesbians are the same, but probably don't apply as broadly. For many lesbians, especially the ones over 50, sexual activity is sporadic or non-existent, and the fact that two women are living together is not particularly significant, morally speaking.
The Church don't need to apologize for nothing. If a Church official publicly states that homosexual sodomy is a "Mortal Sin" that is immoral and prevents the person from being truly a Roman Catholic...well, if the truth hurts you, that's your problem not the Church's problem. Anyone coming into a Church and acknowledging homosexual intentions, but manifesting a desire to remain celibate, will be welcomed with open arms. There are such people, but you don't read about them in People Magazine.
Sorry.
