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Homosexuality and the Catholic Church

             An individual's sexuality is very unique to their character. It helps to define who they are as a person and in many instances it shapes their views and beliefs. The Catholic Church defines homosexuality as, "a condition in which erotic fantasy, attraction, and arousal is predominantly directed toward one's own sex."" It is the position of the Catholic Church that homosexual attraction is not chosen but rather innate, and therefore the orientation in itself is not a sin. The Catholic Church does however condemn any act of a homosexual nature and thus holds the opinion that homosexual activity is morally wrong. The Church's traditional teaching on the issue is based upon Scriptural passages. The scope of the issue, more specifically homosexual marriage, is prohibited by the Catholic Church both locally and globally. Homosexual acts lead to the dissolution of marriage as a sacred entity and, all together, the disruption of society. Everyday people are faced with challenges. The homosexual person is no exception. They are called by God to discern their orientation and to act positively, and morally through their lifestyle. Society as a whole is also presented with challenges. Daily they are challenged to accept homosexuality by the granting of basic human rights such as respect and dignity to these individuals. Homosexuals and the society within which they live are encouraged by the Church to live harmoniously and to act justly in accordance with God's plan for each one of us.
             The Church is very clear in it's teachings regarding homosexuality. Homosexual acts are considered by the Church to be unnatural. To live this orientation in a sexual manner is morally wrong. It prohibits procreation and consequently rejects God. Magisterial Church teaching states that, "homosexual genital relations are objectively immoral because they lack an indispensable finality, namely the procreation function of sexuality; the openness to new life- (Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics).


Essays Related to Homosexuality and the Catholic Church

1. New York Governor Candidate Openly Criticizes Homosexuality

... children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option - it isn't." Following applause at the Congregation Shaarei Chaim, Paladino went on, "I didn't march in the gay parade this year - the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did, and that's not the example we should be showing our ... staff included a gay man. Later in a telephone interview, Caputo said, "Carl Paladino is simply expressing the views that he holds in his heart as a Ca...

  • Word Count: 559
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Religion, Gender and Sexuality

... trimming one's beard and shaping one's hair around the temple area. (Leviticus 19:27) Furthermore, these activists heavily denounce the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church in their lack of disdain against tattoos and working on the day of Sabbath (both of which are prohibited in Bible; Leviticus 19:28 and Exodus 35:2 respectively) and the adherence to only the reference against homosexuality. Similarly, the Catholic denomination and its priests are currently scrutinised for the widespread publicity that ... has been given to the issue of priests abusing their religious status ... ...

  • Word Count: 1643
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Gay Liberation in the Church

... religious. But few mainstream denominations welcome or recognize this devotion" (Vaid, 1995). Homosexuality has been around since the history of humanity; never discussed and always kept hidden in the closet, for fear of retribution by those suffering from homophobia. To put it in the words of the Catholic church, "the Vatican condemns homosexuality as "intrinsically evil" (Gay Today). The Gay Liberation Movement that began 60 years ago has made progress in ... church teaching that homosexuality is unnatural and social stereotypes of gay promiscuity. Dignity articulated it organizationa...

  • Word Count: 1245
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Gay Liberation in the Church

... religious. But few mainstream denominations welcome or recognize this devotion" (Vaid, 1995). Homosexuality has been around since the history of humanity; never discussed and always kept hidden in the closet, for fear of retribution by those suffering from homophobia. To put it in the words of the Catholic church, "the Vatican condemns homosexuality as "intrinsically evil" (Gay Today). The Gay Liberation Movement that began 60 years ago has made progress in ... church teaching that homosexuality is unnatural and social stereotypes of gay promiscuity. Dignity articulated it organizationa...

  • Word Count: 1221
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Is Homosexuality Sin?

... no persuasive reason why woman should not be ordained women enrolled in divinity schools and studied at seminaries in astonishingly large numbers and so were prepared intellectually and psychologically for ordination Catholic women had vocations to be priests-intersected with a crises in the priesthood itself: with fewer men being ordained and many leaving the priesthood to marry, there seemed to be a real need to consider women's ordination ... women with no real explanation except that it has been the tradition of the church since the beginning. Men want to continue to rule the church...

  • Word Count: 2602
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Being Gay: A life in the balance

... very few religious sects that do not condemn homosexuality as a sin and Catholicism is not one of them. Rev. Fred Phelps of Kansas routinely and cruelly protests at funerals of AIDS victims with signs declaring, "god hates Fags!" Even though 6 out of the last fifteen popes were gay the Catholic Church still believes that homosexuality is a grave sin. The government is the second large entity that is almost completely anti ... -gay. Many people were barred from joining the military because they were gay and those who weren't barred were those who kept their secret in ... ...

  • Word Count: 1027
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Roman Catholic Priests

... to marry a woman? Furthermore, this is not the only case of sexual assault that has been recognized by the media. The public has patronized other priests in other parts of the country after young men are now coming out and speaking to the public about their experiences with a priest. With this in mind, we the public, and the followers of the Roman Catholic Church need to figure out a way that we can ... solve this, and stop it in its tracks. For a Catholicism ... their homosexuality, doesn't mean that all priest should be allowed to have sex. Celibacy to some is a reassurance that the p...

  • Word Count: 1020
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Teachings of the Catechism

The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights several regulations and guidelines for how a catholic human being should live. The reading I focused on from the Catechism dealt with the 6th commandment which stated "You shall not commit adultery." In this article, The Catechism tells about such themes as sexuality, marriage and its purposes, chastity as a virtue, forms of chastity, offenses against chastity,(lust, masturbation, fornication, pornography, prostitution), homosexuality, conjugal fidelity, fecundity of marriage, artificial ... that cannot be cured. Physcologists have been trying f...

  • Word Count: 615
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. AIDS, HIV and Faith-Based Organizations

... /AIDS was a punishment from God for sin, especially homosexuality: "AIDS is a lethal judgment of God on America for endorsing this vulgar, perverted and reprobate lifestyle" (Bongmba 22). Other religious leaders have rejected the view that HIV and AIDS was a punishment for sin. Response to HIV and AIDS by the church in Africa has not been without conflicts and controversies. Conservative religious voices continue to declare that ... and vulnerable children. The paper attempted to articulate the situation of the Faith-based organisations in the face of HIV and AIDS. It has analysed the pr...

  • Word Count: 5303
  • Approx Pages: 21
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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