Being Gay & Being Catholic

It's a matter of Roman Catholic doctrine that Jesus Christ was an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all people who live a committed life in serving him. It is taught that Christ brought grace into the world- that grace has the redemptive power to take away our sins permanently and put us in harmony with God forever. We do not have to be perfect or sinless to be in this state of grace. There is no doubt that the Church teaches that grace is large enough to forgive even grievous sins.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that being actively gay is a sin. But it also teaches that masturbation is a sin. It used to teach that eating meat on Friday was a sin. So sin is definitely a forgiveable offense. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, there are two types of actual sin: mortal sin and venial sin. A mortal sin is a grievous sin that takes away saving grace. A venial sin is a lesser sin that lessens our closeness to God.

The Roman Catholic Church further adds that our intentions play an important role in whether something is a sin and whether that sin is mortal or venial. Our laws somewhat mirror the postion of the Church on that- whether we kill somebody in 1st degree or 2nd degree makes no difference in how dead they are. But sentencing is much harsher if it's believed that a person intended from the beginning to kill another person.

So if your attitude is, "I know being gay is wrong and that it offends God but I'm going to do it anyway" that falls into the category of sin. If your attitude is, " I know what the Church teaches and I respect that but I see it as being a reflection of who I am and see no wrong in it for me" I would seriously doubt there's any sin involved at all.

The Church believes that it has the right to speak for God in generally condemning certain actions. It believes it can say that homosexuality as a general rule defies the will of God. But... and this is very important... if you honestly and sincerely see no wrong in something- your individual conscience- through grace- absolves you of any punishment from God.

Why would God punish somebody for doing something they see no wrong in and-- very important-- that doesn't hurt anybody?

Our society (mostly through the church) is wonderful at creating guilt and shame in people as it relates to their sexuality. But unless that shame is an inward feeling where one truly believes they're doing wrong- there's no guilt associated with the sin. In other words, unless you really believe your homosexuality is a terrible wrong- your continuing to be gay would be no more grievous than occasionally lying.

For those of you who are single, safe sex homosexual acts are less likely to be sinful because they don't go against an oath that you took or cause you to be cheating on a spouse.

The secret to being Catholic and gay is to come to terms with it yourself. Don't do things you know to be wrong. Continue your walk with Christ with the same sincerity and genuineness you've always had. Don't let the judgments of others effect your faith.

I'm not sure I've explained this very well and I'm quite positive that not all Catholic theologians accept this particular interpretation. But...this is a postion that is held by some Catholic theologians and one that makes sense to me.

Tim