I never quite understood why the Church had to jump on the gay “understanding” bandwagon. Of course there are members of the Church who are gay. There are also members who belong to the Mafia but one never hears of pleas for their understanding, tolerance, etc. Most people, to a greater or lesser degree, have a propensity for sin. It’s called temptation. And all of us are called to resist that temptation in order to lead better lives.. Less and less do we hear that admonition addressed to the gay community. While I suppose it is interesting to present ten posts on the subject, it really should not be necessary any more than to tell a thief not to steal or tell an adulterer to be faithful.
Mary
August 4, 2020 at 11:00 pm
Thank you for the excellent discussion.
Are the problems related to homosexuality in the Church also related to the problems related to widespread acceptance of contraception? I think there must be a connection at some deep level and this started in earnest in the 1950s and really took off in the 1960s. Most of the Catholics I grew up with and whom I have met over the years who are ‘ok’ with active homosexual relationships are ‘ok’ with contraceptive use by married Catholics. Sadly, this includes most priests I have known around the US. This is also true of most bishops, although a few are outspoken in their defense of church teachings on marriage which includes recognizing the harmful, sinful nature of contraception.
There’s so much more to say on this topic– but the point is that it seems that the homosexuality problem we have in the Church and is society is actually one of the bad fruits of contraception and there are many — divorce, promiscuity, family breakdown, pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion. The clergy and hierarchy failed to protect the faithful from all these when they failed to preach the truth about married love– especially early on in the 1970s and beyond. These bad fruits took root and our young people were left to the wolves prowling about seeking the ruin of their bodies and souls. Even though we see the sad situation which is really desperate, we get the distraction, disinformation and the denial or perhaps on a better day some lip service but no real action — as you pointed out about at the end of the interview– the kind of action a father would take to protect his own children.
Rather than refer to these as “pelvic issues” (with all due respect to Bishop Barron), these are spousal relationship issues; issues of fatherhood and motherhood; issues of proper protection of our children, youth and young adults.
I am reminded of the motto some years back about enlisting for the US Marines: “The Marines are looking for a few good men.”
So aren’t we all.
Thank your for your courage. Keep up the Godly work.
I never quite understood why the Church had to jump on the gay “understanding” bandwagon. Of course there are members of the Church who are gay. There are also members who belong to the Mafia but one never hears of pleas for their understanding, tolerance, etc. Most people, to a greater or lesser degree, have a propensity for sin. It’s called temptation. And all of us are called to resist that temptation in order to lead better lives.. Less and less do we hear that admonition addressed to the gay community. While I suppose it is interesting to present ten posts on the subject, it really should not be necessary any more than to tell a thief not to steal or tell an adulterer to be faithful.
Thank you for the excellent discussion.
Are the problems related to homosexuality in the Church also related to the problems related to widespread acceptance of contraception? I think there must be a connection at some deep level and this started in earnest in the 1950s and really took off in the 1960s. Most of the Catholics I grew up with and whom I have met over the years who are ‘ok’ with active homosexual relationships are ‘ok’ with contraceptive use by married Catholics. Sadly, this includes most priests I have known around the US. This is also true of most bishops, although a few are outspoken in their defense of church teachings on marriage which includes recognizing the harmful, sinful nature of contraception.
There’s so much more to say on this topic– but the point is that it seems that the homosexuality problem we have in the Church and is society is actually one of the bad fruits of contraception and there are many — divorce, promiscuity, family breakdown, pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion. The clergy and hierarchy failed to protect the faithful from all these when they failed to preach the truth about married love– especially early on in the 1970s and beyond. These bad fruits took root and our young people were left to the wolves prowling about seeking the ruin of their bodies and souls. Even though we see the sad situation which is really desperate, we get the distraction, disinformation and the denial or perhaps on a better day some lip service but no real action — as you pointed out about at the end of the interview– the kind of action a father would take to protect his own children.
Rather than refer to these as “pelvic issues” (with all due respect to Bishop Barron), these are spousal relationship issues; issues of fatherhood and motherhood; issues of proper protection of our children, youth and young adults.
I am reminded of the motto some years back about enlisting for the US Marines: “The Marines are looking for a few good men.”
So aren’t we all.
Thank your for your courage. Keep up the Godly work.