Catholicism
...l as though God does not love them, and it suggests that they are not really Christians. In defense of homosexuals Reverend Jack Elwood says, “Describing homosexuality as a sin implies that it is a matter of choice, and it does seem pretty clear that sexual orientation is not choice, at least with most people,” (Murphy B02). This article makes it very clear that there are priests in the church that disagree with the stand on homosexuality, just as many catholic lay people do as well. In a recent study by Gallup its results showed that public thinking about homosexuality has changed, and it seems to be putting pressure on the church. Now more than ever before Americans in the survey feel that gay marriages should be legalized and recognized. The Vatican, however does not read too much into these polls, but many people feel they should. It will now add a sense of urgency to pastoral concerns and could do away with the fear of homosexuals in the church, (Billitteri 13). Along with those that are in favor of homosexuality, there are definitely those in the Catholic Church that are opposed to it. The Catholic Church and in particular the pope have made a clear stand on how they feel about homosexuality. In this document the church gives a stand on the issue, Here, great vigilance is needed. Faithfulness to the (Universal) Declaration (Declaration of Human Rights of 1948) implies the exclusion of all efforts, which seek, under the guide of so-called “new rights”, to include abortion, to leave physical integrity unprotected, or to undermine the heterosexual, monogamous family. Some are currently striving for these harmful goals, seeking to deprive some human beings of their fundamental rights, and to impose upon the weakest new forms of oppression. The lies which undergird these efforts inevitably lead to violence and barbarity and introduce the ‘culture of death’ (Billitteri 9). Here the Church describes the actions of homosexuals as a means of undermining the heterosexual life and infringes on their right to life. However, they do not make any conclusions for their reasons. The church also has another statement about homosexuality; a homosexual who confesses to a priest the occasional instance of promiscuity could receive absolution and be allowed to receive communion. However, if she/he had become involved in a permanent, committed, loving partnership with a person of the same sex, then they would be denied both absolution and the sacraments unless the relationship was terminated (Internet). These two statements make it clear how the church feels about the issue. Catholic lay people have also made a stand on the issue. In the Catholic Church today many people are strongly opposed to gays worshipping. In a recent Catholic convention, Dignity, a national organization of gay Catholics was removed from the official church locations. The reasoning was that they opposed the Church’s official teachings on homosexuality (Colbert 9). Along with this a Catholic priest has made it his goal to oppose homosexuality. He preaches that gays can change their sexual orientation and he wants all Catholics to join his fight (Chuck 6). These open displays of disapproval have stirred up many battles between those in favor of homosexuality and those who are not. Pope John Paul II has openly stated that he is against the practice of homosexuality by any Catholic. He has stated this is an infallible statement, meaning that for any Catholic who disagrees with this statement, the result is that of excommunication. “His primary evidence for this is the reference to homosexuality in the Holiness Code of chapters 18-20 in Leviticus. It refers to homosexuality as a crime punishable by death,” (McNeil 37). Because of the open disapproval of homosexuality people have opted to take various means of worship, but most cases people just disagree with the pope. Though a person should not be discriminated in wanting to believe in something because of their sexual orientation, the bible does mention that homosexuality is morally wrong. Since the bible is one of the prominent focuses in the Catholic faith, many Catholics take its word very seriously. In defense the bible gives three clear examples of homosexual acts in Saint Paul’s epistles. It indicates that homosexuality was present during the biblical time, and it does display that the biblical authors deemed the acts as wrong. Because of these passages people are able to make a strong case towards not allowing gay men and women to practice openly in the church. In John McNeil’s book The Church and the Homo...