Homosexuality

As many of us know, homosexuality is condemned in the Catholic Church, yet it seems odd that Catholicism claims to love everyone. The Catholic Church, however, does not dislike, or is any means homophobic. “While the Church does recognize homosexuality as disordered, this does not mean that the Church is uncompassionate to those who suffer from the disorder. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: ‘Men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies . . . must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.’”

There is some confusion about the beliefs of the Church that must be clarified in order to comment on this subject: people who are not attracted to the opposite sex, are not immoral by any means, unless, of course if they were to act on these behaviors. The Catholic Church explicitly says that just because one’s sexual orientation may not, per say, be chosen, it does not mean that one is born being gay. These tastes are acquired by habituation and conditioning. These aspects could include how one is brought up, how one was treated by one’s parents or adult figures, and the environment in which he or she was exposed to. For instance, we as humans prefer a certain scent, a look, or a personality trait in the opposite sex; therefore, we are conditioned to like these qualities. The behavior and qualities that we find pleasure in a desirable person are not biological. In the same way, a person who likes the members of the same sex has been conditioned to find attractive qualities in same sex people.

In order to put this in terms of everyday life, one way to look at homosexuality is in comparison to alcoholism. Like alcoholics, “gays” and “lesbians” become the way they are due to the environment they are constantly inhabit. If a person is always around alcohol, they are most likely going to be prone to drinking alcohol, simply because it is something that they are comfortable around. If homosexual attractions and desires are things that are accepted and encouraged in their environment, people are bound to act this way.

Another way to look at homosexuality is something that is against “the norm.” The average person is attracted to members of the opposite sex, so therefore, this is often considered normal or standard. A person who is attracted to the same sex is against “the norm,” a special case. These people simply suffer from a disorder in which the Catholic Church is trying to cure.

So therefore, homosexuality can be seen as something like a disease. It is very unfortunate that these people have developed this abnormality and the Church is trying to fix their strange ways. Although this can easily be interpreted as homophobia or exclusion, it really is not. The people of the Catholic Church are simply trying to make those who are strange, and are attracted to members of the same sex, become reacquainted with society. They realize how difficult it is for them to have such awful circumstances, and do not mock them for this, but pray and hope for their recovery.

The Catholic Church, although dissimilar to the modern interpretation of homosexual people, is still trying to help. They are not excluding these people for being the way they are- they know that this has happened through uncontrollable factors, but instead they are just trying to help them become “normal” again. These people must be experiencing much discomfort and lack of satisfaction because of their differences. The Catholic Church realizes this sadness and inequality and this is trying to comfort these people into a normal lifestyle.


Source used:

http://www.catholic.com/library/gay_marriage.asp