DREADTRUTH: What Does The Catechism Actually Say About Homosexuality? And Pier Vittorio Tondelli On Catholicism?

:: Clarity in a Whirl of Nonsense ::

It's come up in the comments section, and most people seem oblivious to the facts, so here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church actually says about 'homosexuality'.

:: Everyone is Called to Chastity ::

The Church does not single out same sex attracted men:

"2394 Christ is the model of chastity. Every baptized person is called to lead a chaste life, each according to his particular state of life."

The Church does not advocate repression:

"2395 Chastity means the integration of sexuality within the person. It includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery."

The Church tackles the issue head-on:

"2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex."

The Church does not have a dated* view:

"It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained."

The Church is concerned with Christian truth and personal choices, not 'homosexuals' per se:

"Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."141

The Church is keen on Natural Law:

"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 Church is not anti-'gay':

"2358 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."

The Church does not abandon 'homosexuals':

"2359 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."

:: The Facts ::

Note well that the Church teaches that an 'inclination' not an orientation (what is a sexual orientation? A choice between missionary or doggy?) is disordered (where such a thing means against the natural order). I might add, the 'inclination' mentioned, is the 'homosexual tendency' condemned. Thus, this refers implicitly to 'homosexual acts' (which almost certainly includes anal sex, but which is otherwise not authoritatively defined), NOT to affection, friendship, emotional commitment, etc.

:: Holy Brotherhood? ::

Indeed, depending on the strength of one's will-power (and the Church does not expect men to be perfect, only to try as hard as humanly possible to be so) such a teaching could even leave room for deeply intense, passionate friendships, boyfriends and male with male unions.

Giotto, Judas Betrays Christ with a Kiss, 1304-06

It must, for Christ is our model for radical chastity (where such a thing means loving the whole person, not just their cock or car) and He surrounded himself with men and even kissed them.#

:: The Whole Story ::

Another section of the Catechism (it is a vast document after all) describes how desires, per se, cannot be evil. Rather, we are warned that:

"2535 The sensitive appetite leads us to desire pleasant things we do not have, e.g., the desire to eat when we are hungry or to warm ourselves when we are cold. These desires are good in themselves; but often they exceed the limits of reason and drive us to covet unjustly what is not ours and belongs to another or is owed to him."

And ties such a warning into a wider ethical framework (it might look familiar, it is common to all Jews, Christians and even Mohammedans). To some extent, same sex attraction must be viewed in the same light, certainly in the seminary:

"2537 It is not a violation of this commandment to desire to obtain things that belong to one's neighbor, provided this is done by just means. Traditional catechesis realistically mentions "those who have a harder struggle against their criminal^ desires" and so who "must be urged the more to keep this commandment""

Same sex attracted men, especially, know where the blackness of uncontrolled desire leads.

:: The Upshot ::

Catholicism is rich and complex, it's disingenuous to quote passages at random. Unpacked, like most Catholic teaching, the Church's ideas on same sex attraction and desire are love-filled. No one genuinely seeking the light of truth need fear them.

:: Other Resources ::

- Pier Vittorio Tondelli, a same sex attracted Catholic who suffered for his religion; and

- What Holy Scripture and the Fathers say about homosexuality.

* (Indeed, as I pointed out in SXWeekly, this section actually makes the Church more 'progressive' or at least more humane than the UN Declaration on Human Rights which does not even mention 'homosexuality').

^ (The disordered desire is analogous but I am not suggesting same sex attraction is generally criminal).