The Church and homosexuals

The 2014 session of the Synod ended with a recommendation of kindness. “Men and women with a homosexual tendency ought to be received with respect and sensitivity.” At the same time the Synod reaffirmed as the Church’s teaching: “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family” (Synod Report § 55). 

But did the Synod do justice to Tom, who uploaded the following video on 4 May 2011? He is a Catholic boy from Liverpool in England. Notice his inner struggles when discovering he is gay. Fortunately for him, his family rallied round. But where was the official support from the Church? People cannot help being homosexual. They are created like that by God who shapes all of us through the process of evolution. And, since we are all are made for love, why should gays and lesbians be forbidden to enjoy intimacy and love?

1. Background information: Vatican Decrees

Dates	Document Name	Description
1975	Persona Humana	Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
1986	Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons	The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
1992	Some Considerations Concerning the Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons	Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
2000	Family, Marriage and “De Facto” Unions	Declaration by the Pontifical Council for the Family
2003	Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons	Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
2005	Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders	Instruction by the Congregation for Catholic Education

2. Theological assessment

• The biblical texts quoted as condemning homosexuality have been misunderstood because they were taken to imply norms imposed for all times, exceeding the intended scope of their authors. 
• The interpretation of Natural Law as forbidding homosexuality rests on a misunderstanding of that Natural Law is. Read more. 
• In spite of the official Church continuing to defend the traditional view, the condemnation of all homosexuality in the past has now been abandoned by the majority of theologians and pastoral leaders. 
• A new pastoral practice has begun in which homosexuals are helped to accept their own sexuality and a life style that does justice both to their Christian faith and homosexual orientation.

Read an extensive explanation & documentation here!

The image above shows Saints Sergius and Bacchus, martyred for the faith in 303 AD. Their hagiography seems to indicate that they were gay. 

3. Responses

The majority of Catholics in educated countries want more support from the Church for homosexual persons and are tolerant regarding gay partnerships.

* See the response of Catholics in the USA.

* See the response of Catholics in the Netherlands.