Tens of Thousands Converge on San Francisco for Gay Pride Parade
From the Associated Press: "Tens of thousands of people wearing elaborate costumes and waving banners rattled noise makers, blew whistles and cheered as participants marched in San Francisco's 36th annual Gay Pride parade."
The article continues:
"There was a serious side to this year's parade, too, with national corporations conspicuously present and the national debate over issues such as gay marriage looming large."
From the memoirs of Sr. Lucia of Fatima:
Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often, especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.As Our Lady spoke these words she opened her hands once more, as had during the two previous months. The rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw as it were a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now following back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me do). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying nad repellant likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. terrified and as if to plead for succor, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us, so kindly and so sadly:
You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. This war will end, but if men do not refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and unknown light [this occurred on January 28, 1938], you will know it is the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war and with hunger, and by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.
...When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need.
The photo on the right shows Jacinta, Lucia, and Francisco, the three visionaries from Fatima, immediately after having experienced the apparition which included the vision of hell.
"Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them""More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason."
– Our Lady of Fatima
Thomistic,
While it's always a good thing to read quotes from Fatima - do we really need another post on the topic of homosexuality?
Many of the Church's critics wrongly claim that She is preoccupied with sex. This is not the case, although many times Her sons and daughters do seem to be so preoccupied.
The Deposit of Faith and the Magisterium obviously talk about homosexuality. They have in the past, do currently, and will in the future. They do not, however, focus on it to the exclusion of other Truths.
Lust is a sin, one of the seven deadly sins to be precise, BUT it is just one out of seven.
Perhaps we could focus on the other six for a change?
Loyolalaw98
Posted by: Loyolalaw98 | Monday, June 26, 2006 at 03:36 PM
I wonder if Cardinal Manhoney will be there to bless the participants.
Maybe not, but you have to believe that a lot of his clergy will be there in disguise. Such an event will be too hard for the dear things to resist.
Posted by: PKS | Monday, June 26, 2006 at 04:37 PM
Loyolalaw98, you should rejoice that the cause of the scandals and much heartache in the Catholic Church is being exposed. This evil is still controling many aspects of our Church. Pope Benedict spoke about this filth too. When an invasive cancer is destroying the body, a person can focus on all the other distractions that exist. The bottom line is it will eventually destroy the good. Be Not Afraid! Pray to Thomas More to become another beacon of moral courage! While St. Thomas More was seen as a progressive for his day, his devotion to God took precedence over all.
Posted by: Atlanta Catholic | Monday, June 26, 2006 at 05:11 PM
Atlanta Catholic,
Your obvious sincerity comes through your posting. Nonetheless, the solution to any problem, including that of gay clergy - will come with some logical basis and not through appeals to emotion.
In response to your admonition - I am not afraid. If and when I need such succor - I agree with you that seeking the intercession of St. Thomas More is a good idea.
Finally, I don't know if I can agree that "rejoicing" is the appropriate response to this problem. I agree with you that this is an area on which there should be focus, I DO NOT, however, see it as the most threatening prospect being faced by the Church.
In this area, as in others, we should strive for balance.
The Church is surrounded on all sides by powerful enemies. If there ever was a time to resurrect the concept of Ecclesia Militans, it is now. I think for many traditional Catholics constant focus on this one issue, while giving some type of visceral emotion, distracts from the MULTIPLICITY of dangers being faced by the Church.
Posted by: Loyolalaw98 | Monday, June 26, 2006 at 05:45 PM
Hooray for San Francisco!! A great turn out to celebrate, not condemn, diversity.
Posted by: jake11 | Monday, June 26, 2006 at 10:37 PM
Loyolalaw98, Thank you for your kind response. When Frank Duff founded the Legion of Mary he wrote wise words in his handbook for Evangelization. He questioned what would help in bringing the Truth of Christ to the world. Would it be more Catholic Churches built? Would it be more priests? The answer might surprise you. This holy man said that all it would take to combat the many different faces of evil were 12 laypeople with zeal. Diocese by Diocese would be converted with such. Every Diocese does not combat the same face of evil. Every Diocese does combat the same force that propels such evil. That is the father of lies. The Diocese of Orange has openly demonstrated the particular brand of evil that corrupts Truth. The statements posted over the last few months on this blog confirm this. Their is a homosexual network that seeks to strangle the truth. This is what I meant by rejoice that people are speaking out against it. Pope Gregory the Great said, " It is better for scandals to arise than the Truth be suppressed." When Catholics are inspired to combat a powerful force of evil, it can only come with the wisdom and courage of the Holy Spirit. I still maintain that this courage is something to rejoice! Thank you Roman Catholic blog for the unique courage in addressing this problem in our Church.
Posted by: Atlanta Catholic | Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 01:16 AM
"More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason."
– Our Lady of Fatima
"I think for many traditional Catholics constant focus on this one issue, while giving some type of visceral emotion, distracts from the MULTIPLICITY of dangers being faced by the Church."
Loyolalaw98
To put this into perspective, as many as 30 million conceptions in America may be aborted via abortifacient contraception. (ie. "The pill" does not prevent conception all the time - sometimes it just aborts the pregnancy.)
Exactly 0% of folks engaging in homosexuality get the 1.5M surgical abortions. "Adult" (HA!) book stores and "adult" (double HA) videos being produced are more frequenbtly (ok, I have no statsistics exactly, can we agree on "as frequently"?) produced for audiences of heterosexual orientation.
There is a lot of work to be done all accross the board. Are we all doing are best to be holy examples making sacrifices for God, the Truth and the salvation of souls?
Posted by: A Simple Sinner | Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 01:34 PM
A Simple Sinner,
I concur. Abortion would be one of the most serious dangers confronting the Church, confronting our world today. In a reasoanble analysis infanticide, even worse the killing of one's own child - must be seen as a wholly grevious act.
We are almost forced to undertake a form of moral triage. Regrettably, Holy Mother Church does not have the resources to attack on all fronts at once. Ergo, She must choose her battles carefully.
Loyolalaw98
Posted by: Loyolalaw98 | Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 01:58 PM
I was staggered by the number of Catholic women who pulled up in their cars, (with Rosaries hanging from their mirrors), to enter into an abortion clinic and terminate their babies life. Many were coming for their second abortion. I always reached out in charity to appeal to their deep sense of fear. Sometimes it was fruitful. I also remember talking to the young man gaurding the abortion clinic door. He was Catholic and his relatives and ancestors were from Portugal. Then there was the Catholic young man home on leave from the Gulf War, to protect lives. He had saved strangers, but had driven his girlfriend to kill their own child. No amount of kind words changed her mind. The young man even told me that his mother wanted the baby. He said he knew what she was doing was wrong. I asked him to please remember that as his life progressed,to know that God would forgive them in this tragic decision. I told him that he would have to trust in that forgiveness because it would be difficult to forgive himself. He even agreed to stop and pray in front of a Tabernacle, on the way home. This sad scenario was constant. Something was terribly wrong. I soon learned a contributing factor to the root of this. There has been a void in the teaching and instilling of the faith. The consequences of contraception, premarital sex, offending God is now politically incorrect to talk about. Like it or not, the root of all wisdom is fear of the Lord. You are told that hell doesn't exist. That there is no purgatory or reminder publically to pray for the souls of the faithful departed who are expiating for sins committed here. The young man knew it was wrong but a deeper trust in God and the Teachings about mercy as well as justice, may have helped him. When these Teachings are denied because of an agenda to make sinful acts acceptable, this compounds the evil. When all Catholics are equally outraged by this pattern, they will understand the reason it is happening and work to expose it. "My people perish for lack of knowledge."
Posted by: Eileen | Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 02:57 PM
Loyolalaw98,
I'm sorry that you do not understand that the Culture of Death is the most pervasive evil in our present age and do not understand that most of the culture of death is intrinsically rooted in sexual sins.
Artificial contraception, deliberate sterilization, and homosexual acts are all unnatural acts, and there is a link between them, because heterosexual couples who deliberately render their sexual activity a sterile, barren act that seeks pleasure and a misguided sense of love essentially distort their heterosexual acts in such a way that they more closely resemble homosexual acts.
Moreover, the widespread acceptance of homosexual activity is directly correlated to the widespread acceptance of the contraceptive mentality.
Although I can understand your discomfort with discussion of homosexuality, for whatever personal reasons they may be, it is a pervasive evil in our culture and I will continue to address the issue as it comes up in the media.
I couldn’t disagree with your assessment that the increasing acceptance of homosexuality within society and the Church is not cause for serous concern.
The media is saturated with positive references to the homosexual lifestyle. My posts are wholly insignificant when contrasted with the tidal wave of media supporting the active homosexual lifestyle Americans are subjected to on a daily basis, yet you have expressed displeasure with a handful of posts I offered on this blog articulating my perspective on the subject through the lens of my Catholic faith.
As I said before, homosexuality is a pervasive evil in our time. It is celebrated unlike ever before in human history. Entire cable networks now exist to cater to homosexuals. Homosexual marriages are legal in Britain and other places in Europe, as well as in Massachusetts.
Homosexuals are demanding homosexual marriage, showing up to Easter egg hunts on the White House lawn, going to communion in rainbow sashes, and promoting movies like Brokeback Mountain, a movie that initially got a breathless, glowing review from USCCB film critic, Harry Forbes and was only changed (and dramatically so) after the USCCB was flooded with complaints.
Here is the original review by USCCB film critic, Harry Forbes.
The review has been almost completely rewritten; a testimony to how the original review was truly offensive to Catholic sensibilities.
Jimmy Akin had some excellent commentary on the review.
Here is some more commentary about the review: US Bishops' Organization Gives Glowing Review of Homosexual-Sex Propaganda Film
Homosexuality is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ, His apostles, and both the Old and New Testament.
Yet society is becoming increasingly pagan in this post-Christian era.
There has been an active campaign among homosexuals, many in the media, and those on the political left (as well as the "Log Cabin Republicans" on the right), to change the cultural perception of homosexuality.
This isn't a wild conspiracy theory, it is a verifiable, documented fact. The article, "How 'gay rights' is being sold to America" is just one example of such documentation.
Propaganda masked as entertainment is also being utilized to the same end, namely, getting people to not only accept homosexuality, but to protect and defend it.
Homosexually themed movies are coming out more and more. Brokeback Mountain, Boys Don't Cry, Philadelphia, and American Beauty, all won significant Academy Awards. There have been so many homosexually themed movies in the last ten years that I can't even remember them all. Several of the movies nominated for Academy Awards last year had homosexual themes or characters, including Brokeback Mountain and TransAmerica. The X-Men movies (at least the first two) were directed by an openly homosexual director, Brian Singer, who wove homosexual allegories in the first two films (and the trend continued with the third under another director). The question of whether or not Superman is a homosexual icon has been all over the media lately.
Homosexual characters are now commonplace on television shows. Will & Grace is popular in syndication. Ellen Degeneres' talk show is winning Emmy Awards left and right (and quite popular in the ratings). Oprah is very homosexual friendly and talks about homosexual issues all the time (including how so many married and/or professedly straight black men go "on the down low", meaning they enjoy homosexual sex on the side and put women at risk for AIDS and STDs). She has a homosexual designer, Nate Berkus, who lost his lover in Thailand because of the tsunami, come on the show all the time.
"Brokeback Mountain" is well produced propaganda.
"Brokeback Mountain" also subtly manipulated viewers into seeing heterosexual marriage as a trap.
The media and homosexual activists spread lies about the motive for Matthew Shepard’s brutal, absolutely unjustified murder. His death was, and still is, invoked as a kind of homosexual martyrdom. ABC News has demonstrated that Matthew Shepard's murder was not a so-called "hate" crime: New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder. Yet Matthew Shepard's tragic murder is still used as a means of silencing any objection to the homosexual lifestyle. In fact, many liberals and homosexual activists frequently imply that all Christian opposition to homosexuality is not only "homophobic" but also shares the blame for what happened to Matthew Shepard or any other homosexually oriented crime victim.
The movies "Boys Don't Cry" and "Brokeback Mountain" also perpetuate the idea that homosexuals need to be cherished and protected by society because those who oppose homosexuality are dangerous and will kill homosexuals.
Read this article: The Truth About the Homosexual Rights Movement. A homosexual wrote it and he is very honest about what homosexuality actually involves. it isn't graphic or disgusting in its detail. It is an honest, heartfelt life story and it is extremely eye opening.
Almost of my posts about homosexuality are about current events in the news, not endless rants about homosexuals invented out of thin air.
If you'll notice, this post about homosexuality was about an event that occurred the previous weekend and was reported on by the Associated Press. National corporations sponsored it. The AP reports that tens of thousands attended it. Similar events happened across the nation. It was for homosexual pride day, or week, or month, or whatever.
Homosexuality is a death-style. It is very sad to say this, but homosexual activity basically facilitates the spread of disease and turns countless homosexual men (and some women) into vectors.
Catholic Answers has an excellent article, titled, Gay Marriage, which is well researched and discusses in detail the various diseases and pathologies associated with homosexuality.
Here is what homosexuals admit about themselves: 'The Gay Report'
Another reason to be concerned with the widespread acceptance of homosexuality within our culture and in the Church is this ugly secret: Pedophilia is more common among 'gays'.
Here is another article supporting the same premise: Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse
Support for homosexuality will eventually lead to the acceptance of pedophilia. In fact, the movement to normalize pedophilia has already begun: The Problem of Pedophilia
Here is evidence of more efforts at normalization: Gay-Affirming Psychologists Propose Redefining Child Sexual Abuse
Something to consider: Woman Reared In Same-Sex Household Speaks Out Against Gay Marriage
Additionally, homosexuality is a serious problem within the Church. In January of 2001, The Kansas City Star reported that Catholic priests are dying of AIDS at a rate four times higher than the general population.
A significant number of priests, some say as high as 40% are thought to be homosexuals.
This article gives further evidence that Catholics have good reason to be concerned about the homosexual subculture within the Catholic priesthood: 'Gay' culture in Catholic Church grows
Despite the recent Vatican instruction entitled, “Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders”, stating that the Church "cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture"", U.S. Bishop's president, Bishop William Skylstad, supports the ordination of homosexual men to priesthood, and by all indications California prelates will continue to ordain homosexuals.
Bishop Tod Brown explicitly told his priests, "We need priests who see themselves in a wider and more mature way, whatever their sexual orientation."
Fr. Arthur Holquin, pastor of the Mission San Juan Capistrano Basilica (which is located in the Diocese of Orange, California), published the following article in his December 4, 2005, parish bulletin: Can gays be priests? by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, former Master General of the Dominican Order. In his bulletin, Fr. Holquin proclaimed the article, which calls homosexual priests a gift to the Church, "a helpful and wise commentary".
Fr. Radcliffe’s article was written for the November 26, 2005 issue of the progressive international Catholic weekly magazine, The Tablet. It is interesting to note that the article actually pre-dates the November 29, 2005 release date of the Vatican instruction. The article was written in response, not to the actual Vatican document, but rather a leak of the document, which, while accurate, did not include the other documents released simultaneously by the Vatican with the instruction.
Fr. Radcliffe’s hasty spin on the instruction was clearly meant to soothe the impending apoplexy of Catholic priests and lay persons who have a progressive mindset about homosexuality, and a deeply vested interest in the acceptance of homosexual clergy, over the wording of the soon to be released Vatican document. It reads like a heartfelt attempt to mollify the anxiety of homosexually-oriented priests, seminarians, and vocation candidates. However, the balm Fr. Radcliffe offers to ease the pain is offered by obfuscating the truth.
You may be aware that Fr. Radcliffe has had much to say about homosexuality lately. He was recently quoted in the April 7, 2006, issue of the National Catholic Reporter:
Rev. Donald Cozzens, former rector at the Archdiocese of Cleveland seminary, suggested in his 2000 book, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood," that each bishop should determine what percentage of homosexuals priests would be acceptable in his diocese.
In the same book, Fr. Cozzens famously said that the priesthood is becoming a homosexual profession.
Catholic bishops, like retired Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, have engaged in homosexual activism. Bishops Kenneth Utener (Saginaw, Michigan), Walter Sullivan (Richmond, Virginia), Joseph Imesch (Springfield, Illinois), Matthew Clark (Rochester, New York), Howard Hubbard (Albany, New York), and John Cummins (Oakland, California), have all promoted and enabled the homosexual agenda.
Here’s more information about Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
In February of 2000, Bishop Tod Brown sent each priest in the Diocese of Orange two articles by Fr. Gerald D. Coleman dealing with the Prop. 22 ban on homosexual marriage. In the message accompanying the articles, Bishop Brown wrote that Fr. Coleman's article "expresses very well my own thoughts on this subject." Fr. Coleman’s article, “Is Prop 22 Discriminatory?” argued: "Some homosexual persons have shown that it is possible to enter into long-term, committed and loving relationships, named by certain segments of our society as domestic partnerships."
Bishop Brown has shown support for the homosexual lifestyle on numerous occasions for years, as the Open Letter To Bishop Brown ably demonstrates. In fact, the Rainbow Sash movement has praised Bishop Tod Brown.
Cardinal Roger Mahony has also promoted and enabled the homosexual agenda, both through questionable ministries to homosexuals, and public statements by Tod M. Tamberg, Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles welcoming members of the Rainbow Sash Movement who come to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to receive Holy Communion at Mass while wearing their rainbow sashes, which represent their commitment to the homosexual lifestyle and their belief that Church teaching on homosexuality is discriminatory.
Cardinal McCarrick said he would be fine with homosexual civil unions on CNN. He later said that he was misunderstood, but never actually withdrew his statement or explained exactly how he was misunderstood. See: Cardinal McCarrick Says He 'Misspoke' On CNN
About eight U.S. bishops have been forced into resignation over homosexual affairs (or homosexual activity with minors) within the past sixteen years. See: Bishops Besieged
Additionally, Bishop J. Kendrick Williams (Lexington, Kentucky), was accused by three plaintiffs of sex abuse. He resigned on June 11, 2002.
Studies of the sex abuse scandals revealed that 81.9 % of sex crimes committed against young people by Catholic priests during the past 52 years involved homosexual men preying on boys. Only 5.8% of victims were under age 7; 16% percent were between ages 8-10; and over 78% were between the ages of 11-17. 44% of the accused priests were accused by more than one person, and contrary to the suggestions implied by the media, the victims have not been preadolescent children; they were generally teenage boys. It is reasonable to conclude from this data that the majority of sexual abuse within the Church has involved homosexual men who have a sexual appetite for teenaged boys.
Sadly, according to a June 12, 2002 article by Fox News, “A review of American bishops found leaders of 111 of the nation's 178 mainstream Roman Catholic dioceses allowed priests, religious brothers and lay employees accused of sex abuse to keep working.”
I, personally, know a number of agenda driven homosexual priests. I know over ten priests, personally, who molested boys. About five of them were from Orange County (and more than five priests in Orange County have engaged in sexual misconduct with minors, I’m just talking about the ones I have personally encountered).
In addition to all the other evidence I have presented, here are some more articles that demonstrate that homosexuality is a significant problem within the Church:
(Warning: The site immediately below contains quotes with profanity and censored graphic pictures.)
Roman Catholic Faithful ~ St. Sebastian’s Angel’s Website Exposed:
http://rcf.org/Old_web/REMOVESEB/angels/confidentialhomosexualpriestringstartingpage.htm (copy and paste link)
St. Sebastian’s Angels
By Jay McNally
Catholic World Report
June 2000
The Gay Priest Problem
By Rev. Paul Shaughnessy
Catholic World Report
November 2000
The Wisdom of Bishop Cawcutt
By Peter W. Miller
Seattle Catholic
August 31, 2001
‘Pedophile priests’ and Boy Scouts
By David Kupelian
WorldNetDaily
May 8, 2002
The Fallen Angels of "St. Sebastian’s"
By Peter W. Miller
Seattle Catholic
July 19, 2002
Gay priests cited in abuse of boys
The Washington Times
By Julia Duin
February 28, 2004
Trail of Abuse Leads to Seminary
By Paul Pringle
Los Angeles Times
November 17, 2005
I'm sorry we disagree, Loyolalaw98. You are entitled to your opinion, but I am not persuaded by it, because I believe there is a mountain of evidence that indicates that this particular issue is significant enough to be mentioned as often as I have mentioned it.
Respectfully,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 09:57 PM
Blessed be God for any movement which helps people recognize their dignity despite the effort and hatred of many. Yes gay and lesbians have dignity not despite it but through it! I know it first hand. As for Fatima no where does it mention homosexuality that I remember. So instead of hiding under so many closets [including those inside the hierarchical church!] we should celebrate diversity and realize that like a garden we are all different yet each praise God by being who we are and not pretending to be something one is not.
Posted by: Jean | Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 03:30 PM
People have human dignity. Homosexuality cannot, in itself, confer dignity, because it is a disordered orientation. The homosexual tendency can only confer dignity when it is properly recognized as a disordered tendency towards an intrinsic moral evil. Those who struggle with homosexual tendencies and overcome their temptations to sin merit great graces, and are truly dignified.
Those who ignore God's Word, in both the Old & New Testaments and attempt to justify behavior that Sacred Scripture repeatedly calls an abomination and represents as actions of grave depravity have bought into a lie. Their so-called dignity is like the Emperor's New Clothes. They have either been deceived or are deceiving themselves because of their disordered attachment to a serious sin.
Homosexual activity is contrary to the natural law. It involves unnatural acts that cannot be described in polite conversation. Even if discussed in clinical terms, such activity is repellent to normal human sensibilities, whereas natural (as opposed to unnatural) heterosexual activity can be discussed clinically in a way that is not offensive.
Buzzwords like diversity, a mountain of propaganda, and slick marketing have done much to brainwash people out of their normal aversion to actions that are comparable to handling the contents of a bedpan with one's bare hands and which, because of their unnatural use of bodily organs, render homosexually active people extremely vulnerable to infection and disease (and becoming agents of infection and disease). However, for all the sophistry employed in hoodwinking the general population into accepting sodomy as a normal human variant, the homosexual rights movement will never be able to stamp out natural heterosexual revulsion for homosexual activity.
As far as Fatima, Our Lady said that more souls go to hell for sins of the flesh than for any other kind of sin.
Homosexuality is a sin of the flesh.
Jean, good Catholics pray every day that you will come to the realization that you are embracing a deathstyle that is physically and spiritually destructive in the same way that other disorders like alcoholism, drug addiction, bulimia, and anorexia destroy people.
Turn from a lifestyle that will ultimately bring you grief, Jean. You are more than your sexual tendencies. You have gifts and abilities and an intrinsic dignity that make you special. Focus on those good things and dedicate yourself to living for God.
It may be hard to give up things that you feel deeply drawn to doing, but you must remember that things aren't any easier for the rest of us. All Christians are called to practice chastity. All Christians are to reject temptations to sin, no matter how strong and appealing they might seem.
I have never understood why people with homosexual tendencies who defend an active homosexual lifestyle can't see that they are in denial in the same way people afflicted with the other disorders I mentioned are in denial.
What if those people want to call their disorders an alternative lifestyle? How about NAMBLA? They claim that pederasty is a healthy orientation just like you claim homosexuality is one. Why is it wrong for them to act out on their desires, but okay for you?
The fact is, when you ignore the natural law and deny that there is an objective moral standard for human behavior, you open Pandora's box and open the floodgates for the acceptance of all manners of depravity.
Wake up, Jean!
Homosexuality isn't a diversity to be celebrated. It's a dead end.
Posted by: Thomistic | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 08:55 AM
Natural law!!!! Please..look at nature...praying mantis eat their partners after copulating! DO we do that? Of course not? The mouth was made for eating yet we talk and kiss? Natural law? Many animals have multiple partners? Natural law? When you say homosexuality is a dead end what are you basing it on? Opinion or experience? If opinion...I would never argue with that as that is as diverse as shades of color and if based on own experience..won't argue there either, even though it is sad as we only have one life to live. What I think is a dead end is to believe in a sadistic Gog who allows one to be heterosexual or homosexual and tell you that the way to love is by denying who you are. That is not a god of love but a sadistic one. By the way I am a psychologist so I have to diferrentiate for you the difference between a homosexual/heterosexual person having a relationship with an adult and with a minor. With an adult it is consenting and both are at the same level. Both have a capacity to love [you may not like it but that is the case..many don't like love relations between people from different races or religions but these are valid] With a child things are different. A child is not prepared emotionally to respond to a love relationship which makes it wrong. You keep on referring to scripture...well scripture jsutifies slavery for example, prohibits we eat certain sea food...yet I am sure you disagree with that. THAT IS WHY is so important to temper scripture/faith with the scientific knowledge [see VAtican II]...and most social scientist consider homosexuality and heterosexuality to be expressions in human nature [including animals...which though you may not be aware...some engage in homosexual behavior...ummm.. natural law????]
Posted by: Jean | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 09:22 AM
Jean,
Natural law doesn't apply to animals. it only applies to creatures who have the use of reason or an intellectual faculty. Animals lack this and are, therefore, not bound by the natural law. Moreover, because of the sin of Adam, Sacred Scripture says that suffering mysteriously entered the ranks of the animal kingdom (because Adam had dominion over all the animals). It is not surprising, then, that animals should be given to disordered acts. Dolphins and chimps have been observed to force sex on unwilling partners, would that, then, justify rape? According to your argument, it would, which is absurd. As you pointed out, a mantis eats the head of its mate. Would that, then, justify murder? Why would you even offer the examples of brute animals who lack the use of reason and are therefore not capable of responsibility for their actions?
There is a reason we put dogs who bite people to sleep and put people who bite people in mental institutions. Animals and people have different levels of culpability and are essentially different types of beings.
Based on your response, it is clear that you have an incorrect understanding of what I mean by the natural law. The natural law is the response of right reason to the world around us. It is a reasoned response to reality. Through the natural law we recognize that we treat a thing in accordance with its nature. Therefore, we treat a head of lettuce one way, a puppy is treated another way, and a human being is treated differently from a puppy or a head of lettuce. When you use a thing in a manner contrary to its nature you violate the natural law and do something wrong. Some violations are more sinful than others, just as some acts are more or less unnatural.
Lets take an example: a pencil. A pencil achieves its end when it is used in accordance with its nature. The end, or purpose for being, of a pencil is to write. When a pencil is used properly, it is "happy". (I'm being simplistic and applying personification to illustrate a point, not to be condescending.) If we were to use a pencil as though it were a screw driver, we would hurt the pencil. It would be damaged by our action that ran contrary to its nature. If we ignored the fact that we were destroying the pencil and continued to use it as a screwdriver, ultimately, we would destroy it completely.
Now let's take a human function: eating. Eating has a purpose: nourishment. It has pleasure united to it in order to facilitate that purpose. However, when someone overeats for pleasure, they get fat. If they eat purely for the pleasure and then vomit to prevent weight gain, that is called an eating disorder. It is an abuse of the bodies faculties. It's a sickness. Bulimic individuals need help. They are disordered. Their sinful use of food and their inordinate need t control their appearance becomes so habitual that they do all sorts of terrible things to their bodies, vomiting, starving themselves, gorging, using laxatives, etc.
The inclination to homosexuality, while not sinful in itself, is a disorder. It is a disorder in the same sense that anorexia, bulimia, alcoholism, or drug addiction is a disorder, only it touches on an area even more intimate: sexuality. Disorders are not something to be proud of and sharing the fact that one struggles with any kind of temptation, especially if it is one that involves serious sin is not to be undertaken without serious reason, not only for the safeguard of one's own reputation, but also so as not to cause scandal.
Sin darkens the intellect and weakens the will, that habitual sin does this all the more and makes turning back from any sin more difficult. Sin also impedes the reception of actual grace. Mortal sin robs the soul of sanctifying grace (the loss of charity), habitual mortal sin inclines one to depression and possible despair (the loss of hope), and the incongruity of living as though there is no God slowly becomes incompatible with belief in the supernatural (the loss of faith).
The sole weapon left to restore a soul is the gift of faith, and when that is lost, the soul is placed in tremendous peril, because there is nothing left to bring the soul back to God unless the light of faith is rekindled.
Back to the natural law aspect:
You compare homosexuality to heterosexuality as though they are just variants of behavior, but they aren't. Homosexual acts are intrinsically evil. They are incapable of transmitting life and cannot provide the true union that heterosexual complementarity provides because they aren't acts of self-donation, the total gift of self to other, or open to the possibility of life.
Heterosexual acts within the context of marriage are moral and just because they are natural in every way, down to the cellular levels of sperm and egg. Whatever the intention of any sexual act, the body's nature, down to the actions of sex cells, shouts God's plan. God's design is clear. Sperm always seeks an egg. To do so is its nature. When that design is followed and nature's function is working properly, new life can result, and because of marriage, the children have the possibility of a stable, loving family to nurture them. When the supernatural element of the sacrament of marriage is added to the natural beauty and goodness of such a relationship, marriage becomes an even greater means of sanctification.
The design of sex says I love you completely; because it involves complete self donation.
It says I love you exclusively; because you can't love more than one person with complete self donation.
It says I love you forever; because such a total gift of self may not be taken back.
To say such things with one's body, but not mean it in one's heart, is a lie. Doing so is to use one's own body and that of another person simply for personal gratification. That is not love.
When compounded with the fact that love seeks the good of the beloved, the fact that such acts do not involve love becomes all the more clear, as such action places the person with whom we have acted out sexually in danger of losing their soul. It would be more loving to shove their face in a puddle of vomit than cause their soul to be separated from God.
Yes, heterosexuals sin sexually, but that doesn't justify homosexual sin. It just means that homosexually active people aren't the only sinners.
All deliberate sexual acts (whether they are actions done alone or with others) outside of the context of marriage, or which are deliberately closed to the creation of new life (within marriage) are objectively serious matter and to engage in such acts with sufficient reflection and full consent is a mortal sin.
Any sexual act that does not comply with Church teaching is not an act of love. It is an act of masturbation, whether alone, or through the use of another person's body.
This teaching is a cross for everyone, not just homosexuals, because of our fallen nature and the war of our passions against right reason. We can all pray for deliverance from such temptations, but nobody can reasonably expect that they will forever remain free from any temptation in this area, regardless of the specific nature of the temptation. We are simply called to pray and struggle. Through our struggle we are constantly reminded of our frailty and therefore our total dependence upon God. Such temptations, understood properly, are a means of keeping us close to God, even though they are a cross.
I still don't understand this: To embrace the homosexual lifestyle seems to be just giving up and deciding that relief can be found in no longer struggling against a predominant tendency to sin. Should other people give in to all of their temptations to sin and instead of turning and repenting accept it as their very nature, as something to reconcile with themselves and be at peace about? Is that the solution for alcoholism, eating disorders, every manner of sexual temptation, and the rest of the seven deadly sins? Should they just be accepted and embraced as lifestyles?
Was Jesus wrong when He asked what it profits a man to gain the entire world and yet suffer the loss of his own soul?
I link the following to help make it even more clear what I mean when speaking of the natural law:
The Various Kinds Of Law
The Effects Of Law
The Eternal Law
Whether the natural law is a habit?
Whether the natural law contains several precepts, or only one?
Whether all acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law?
Whether the natural law is the same in all men?
Whether the natural law can be changed?
Whether the law of nature can be abolished from the heart of man?
Whether every human law is derived from the natural law?
The Old Law
The Precepts Of The Old Law
The Moral Precepts Of The Old Law
The Ceremonial Precepts Of The Old Law In Themselves
The Judicial Precepts Of The Old Law
The Causes Of The Ceremonial Precepts Of The Old Law
The Duration Of The Ceremonial Precepts Of The Old Law
The Reason For The Judicial Precepts
The Law Of The Gospel, Called The New Law, Considered In Itself
The New Law As Compared With The Old
Things That Are Contained In The New Law
Additional reading:
Natural Law
Moral Aspect of Divine Law
This article ties things together: Homosexuality
As for homosexuality being a dead end:
Homosexuality is a death-style. It is very sad to say this, but homosexual activity basically facilitates the spread of disease and turns countless homosexual men (and some women) into vectors.
Catholic Answers has an excellent article, titled, Gay Marriage, which is well researched and discusses in detail the various diseases and pathologies associated with homosexuality.
Here is what homosexuals admit about themselves: 'The Gay Report'
An ugly secret: pedophilia is more common among 'gays'.
Another article supporting the same premise: Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse
The movement to normalize pedophilia has already begun: The Problem of Pedophilia
Here is evidence of more efforts at normalization: Gay-Affirming Psychologists Propose Redefining Child Sexual Abuse
Something to consider: Woman Reared In Same-Sex Household Speaks Out Against Gay Marriage
Finally, I encourage you to read this article: The Truth About the Homosexual Rights Movement. A homosexual man wrote it and he is very honest about what homosexuality actually involves. It isn't graphic or disgusting in its detail. It is an honest, heartfelt life story and it is extremely eye opening.
I'll be curious as to your thoughts on the last article as well as the other things I've shared with you here.
Pax,
Thomistic
P.S. For an excellent explanation of the natural law, in a more reader friendly layman's style, I highly recommend: Mere Christianity
Posted by: Thomistic | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 01:55 PM
WOW....a lot of non sense to most people. Seems like a lot of wordage/verborrhea to hide one's hatred or sense of superiority. All I can tell you my friend is that the love I have felt [like many others I know] for the last 8 years is not only not sinful but life giving to my partner and myself. Sacramental of God's love to us. If that is sinful then I rather commit that sin than the sin of not been truthful to whom I am=natural law! THAT would be sinful as God has created me this way. Remember that the law is made for man and not man for the law.
Posted by: Jean | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 02:11 PM
Jean,
Your response was far too quick to have read the linked articles and absorbed what i was trying to convey. It seems you aren't interested in what I have to say. Instead you just seem to want to accuse anyone who won't sanction your lifestyle of hatred.
Saying God made you a homosexual is false for several reasons:
1) There is no evidence to prove that homosexuality is purely genetic. In fact, if it were, nature would have selected homosexuals for extinction many thousands of years ago, as they can't reproduce.
2) At best, you could argue that homosexuality is a birth defect, but I don't see where that would help make homosexual activity okay. Lots of people with birth defects have inclinations to behaviors that are still not okay. Did you know that some people are born with diseases where they literally can't control their desire for food and just keep eating, gaining weight, and becoming quite difficult when they are prevented from eating? Do we just say: "God made them that way"? No, we pt locks on the cabinets and thee refrigerator, monitor their spending, and if necessary, place them in residential treatment.
3) Can an alcoholic say that God made him or her that way? There is actually evidence that alcoholism has a genetic component. Does that make it okay?
4) Why can't a pedophile say God made him that way? What if the twelve year old is really mature for his age and is a consenting partner? Why should the pedophile be denied his relationship? Why can't he say God made him that way?
5) God does not cause sin, ever. Homosexual acts are inherently sinful. They can never be done for any reason. God would never make someone a homosexual. God permits evil to bring about a greater good, but He is never the author of sin. God permits people to be tempted by any number of weaknesses. You have yours and I have mine and someone else has others, and so forth. Those temptations are opportunities to merit reward for choosing God over a sinful desire, not an excuse to give in and say that God made you do it. To attribute sinful desires to God is tantamount to sinning against the Holy Spirit. It is deeply blasphemous. Only in an age dominated by the diabolical would people stop saying "the devil made me do it" and then turn around and blame the Most High God!
I have no doubt that you are capable of deep, life affirming friendships with men, including your "partner". Such friendships are perfectly moral and life giving. It is the sexual component that makes such relationships disordered. Take out the sex and you'd be fine.
Alcoholics abuse alcohol. Alcohol is good. it isn't evil or sinful. However, alcoholics use it in a way contrary to its purpose, sinning by excess in order to destroy the use of reason and have an escape from life. There is nothing wrong with a correct relationship with alcohol. it is the abuse of alcohol that is sinful
If you can't stop drinking once you start, you have to stop altogether. (If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; better to enter the kingdom of Heaven blind or maimed, than to be thrown into the fires of Gehenna [I'm paraphrasing because I'm tired].
No matter how much you try to justify homosexual activity, it is unnatural, and it violates the law of God written in your own heart:
Pax,
Thomistic
P.S. I can't reply further until late tonight. God bless you!
Posted by: Thomistic | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 03:45 PM
Thomistic,
When I read LoyolaLaw's comments, I understood that while he thought homosexuality was a big problem, he didn't think it was the only problem facing the Church nor did he think it was the worst problem facing the Church. I read that he was saying that you seem pre-occupied with the specific manifestation of sin known as homosexuality and that other things might be as or more important--like abortion.
I was astonished at your response to him. It seemed to completely miss his point and then seemed to prove his point. It missed his point that 1.3 million abortions a year is a bigger problem facing humanity and the Church than homosexuality. Then it seemed to prove his point when you remarked that he was uncomfortable discussing homosexuality followed by your statement that he might have personal reasons for that. That is easily read as implying that maybe LoyolaLaw's uncomfortable with homosexuality because he's facing personal sexuality questions.
You followed this with an enormous written lecture on the dangers of homosexuality. Great information, but the fact that you posted that much stuff in response to (what appears to me to be) a misreading of his point suggests an imbalance that is not optimally healthy. It makes it sound like you are the one who is overly pre-occupied with homosexuality to the exclusion of other things. Which goes to LoyolaLaw's point about what appears to be an obsessive preoccupation. I just wish that the internet hadn't lagged when your information-filled comment got posted :D
I think homosexuality is a huge problem facing the Church. I understand its relationship to the Culture of Death and sexual problems in the priesthood. But I agree with LoyolaLaw that the deaths of 300,000 Catholic babies a year seems a bit more important.
My point isn't that you shouldn't fight against homosexuality as hard as you can or make it the focus of all your efforts. That's up to you. Perhaps that's where your gifts lead you. So much focus on one subject and so little tolerance for someone who presents a slightly different view suggests that a better balance could lead to better perspective and deeper insights.
Unfortunately, I found your comment directed to LoyolaLaw ringing with arrogance and condescension that is very off-putting. It does not engage in a positive way, but pushes away even those who don't disagree.
Perhaps you and LoyolaLaw have had an off-site dialogue that gives this exchange an entirely different context. But the way your post comes across in tone and implication is very negative.
I share this because I genuinely hope that I simply misread things and want to be corrected.
In Christ
Posted by: OC Catholic | Saturday, July 01, 2006 at 04:48 PM
When the entire chancery has a homosexual deathgrip, strangling the life out of the Teachings of the Church, watering down everything until there is nothing but banners, butterflies and love, there is never too much truth. I bet the same waves of opposition hit the first victims of sexual abuse who tried to expose it. To this day, some people refuse to believe these things actually happened. The Bishops that are silent on gay marraige initiatives are certainly not going to rock the boat of pro abort politicians. They need them to further their homosexual agenda. So politicians continue to sacrifice lives, Bishops give them communion and abortion on demand continues. This issue cannot be exposed enough when given the totality of devastation it is responsible for. "Rite of Sodomy" by Randy Engle will be out soon. This book is a detailed history of this issue that plagues the church today. Don't address the symptom, expose the root cause of why Bishops are silent towards pro abort politicians. Fat chance on eradicating abortiion when the Shepherds are looking the other way. Why they couldn't even make a strong decision on whether or not to give Communion to Pro Abort politicians. It is a vicious cycle that starts with the Church being the moral authority. Right now the Bishops are being the silent moral authority. They have a homosexual agenda. If they scratch the politicians backs by winking and looking the other way, those politicians will help them with their gay marraige issues. Expose this!
Posted by: Atlanta Catholic | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 02:32 AM
OC Catholic, Thomistic has a God given gift. I enjoy reading what he posts and I learn from it! Perhaps people could be jealous of such a gift! Lets stop being jealous of one another because that is what the devil wants. Lets stop accussing others who have these gifts of explaing the faith, by calling them arrogant and such! Stop it! People like Thomistic could be priests or Bishops in disguise on these blogs. We don't know! Thomistic has just only repeated Church Teachings and given documented evidence. Lets read what he posts links and all!
Posted by: Michael | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 04:55 AM
Thomistic of course I did not read all the posts regarding natural law. One simple reason I know perfectly well what it means and the MANY holes in the concept. I bet anything that you have never sat down with another human being who is gay/lesbian and in a loving relationship which of course involves sexual expression and tried to understand who they are instead of talking from an ivory tower passing judgement and feeling you have "natural law" to back you up. Very easy to do! I go back to one simple fact which is scientific..NO ONE knows what makes some people hetero/homosexual... all we know is it happens at a moment in which no conscious decision is made about it. SO if one chooses to live it in a way that is life giving and brings goodness to the people involved NO ONE can say that is evil. You compare it to a birth defect...is a prejudice on your part. That many may not feel comfortable with it that is another issue which I accept. All I know is that to not live who I am would make me lead a mediocre life and I refuse to believe God would be so mediocre and small to not allow me to love another human with all my being just because he has the same genitals I do.
Posted by: Jean | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 08:25 AM
"Thomistic has just only repeated Church Teachings and given documented evidence" Beutiful!!! Repeating learned ideas without seeing how it affects others... has gotten us in trouble as an institution too many times. One thing our founder did make clear is that people are first...rules go second. If not read the gospels again and see how mnay times he broke petty rules to heal people. Is just we ge tblinded and feel that was only for the jews...NO it is for us all!
Posted by: Jean | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 08:28 AM
OC Catholic, Loyolalaw98, A Simple Sinner, and everyone else:
I have never, ever, said that homosexuality is the #1 problem facing humanity or that homosexual sin trumps abortion.
That's why I'm baffled by attempts to portray me as particularly against homosexuality, as though that's the only problem in society that I consider evil or a threat.
A Simple Sinner said that homosexuals don't get abortions. That is very true, but most homosexuals are avid supporters of abortion rights (as well as all other things associated with liberalism and the Democratic party).
A Simple Sinner also spoke of most pornography being heterosexual in nature. He or she is correct in saying that, but doesn't seem to realize that most if not all homosexuals frequently view and use pornography. It has been explained to me that the use of pornography is part of the package when it comes to homosexuality. Porn use isn't considered essential to heterosexuality, although it is presented in our culture as a rite of passage and even acceptable behavior among male heterosexuals, which is very wrong.
But I digress.
The point is: I have never said that homosexuality is the only problem in the world or the biggest problem in the world. I was just trying to demonstrate that homosexuality isn’t a minor issue or a small problem in society or the Church.
I never said it’s a greater evil than abortion. I don’t know where people get that.
If you will notice, I post about the evil of abortion all the time.
I post about lots of topics; including the war in Iraq, the war on terror, Islam, abortion, God & science, liturgical norms & controversies, Anne Coulter, President Bush, the death penalty, Bishop Tod Brown, and all sorts of other topics.
Once I tried to do an American Idol post and people complained that this isn't a pop culture blog. I had tried to tie in a story about a son hitting his mother over the results of the show to tie in a moral component, but people weren't interested.
You would think that spiritual topics would fare better, but most posts from Maximus about the latest statements from the pope also get few comments. If the topic is interesting, people care more, but otherwise, the response is tepid.
If you check the comments under the things I post, you will see that the posts I have done about God and science or other things of that nature get very little attention. The more controversial topics are the ones people choose to comment on, whether they are about wayward priests and bishops, homosexuality, liturgical norms, the war, or what have you.
I have had complaints about every controversial topic I have ever posted about. Any controversial topic I have covered has caused at least one reader to act like a bee flew up his or her nose and lecture me about what I should be thinking, saying, or posting about. Sometimes they are less than charitable in the way they present their opinions. At times, they seem to forget that their criticisms can come across as condescending, and even accusatory. I have, in various threads throughout Roman Catholic Blog, been explicitly or implicitly accused of: having a Republican agenda, an anti-gay agenda, of overcompensating with homophobia for my own sexual insecurities or closeted homosexuality, of bashing priests and bishops and/or cheerleading for those who do. I generally take such things in stride, but when they have been repeated, I have responded in my own defense as well as in defense the teachings of the Catholic Church. I'm not equating myself with the Church, but I will say that my Catholicism informs all of my beliefs and opinions. Generally, I try to respond with evidence for why I think and feel the way I do about things, but in this case, the more evidence I gave as to why I think homosexuality is a significant problem was twisted into a suggestion that I am somehow only concerned about that issue or that that subject is my only focus or the only thing that interests me, or whatever way people want to word it.
I think people don’t really realize the danger to society that homosexuality presents, and I definitely think they don’t see it as a major problem in the Church. People have been brainwashed into thinking homosexuality is a harmless human variant or even a flip side of the coin from heterosexuality.
People don’t seem to understand that homosexuality destroys homosexuals, and they don’t realize that homosexuals within the Church are so paralyzed by their homosexuality and so fixated on dealing with their own sexual issues (as well as on getting Catholics to accept homosexuality as okay) that they aren’t teaching the faith. Homosexual priests and bishops are enormously compromised, especially if they are acting out sexually. They are targets for blackmail (like Archbishop Rembert Weakland). They also tend to sympathize with dissent from Church teaching, especially in areas of sexual morality. For example: if artificial contraception were moral, that would lead to the acceptance of homosexual activity. The correct understanding of the necessary unitive and at least potentially procreative elements required of human sexual morality is completely destroyed by a belief that artificial contraception is moral. Homosexual priests and bishops know this. They want to encourage dissent from Church teaching in that area because it would open the door for homosexuality.
It is completely unfair to paint me as singling out homosexuality as the only evil we face in society or to falsely accuse me of believing that homosexuality is the single most evil problem of our age. I have never said such things. Ever.
However, I will not back down from saying that homosexuality is a pervasive evil. It is! The sin of homosexuality is lionized in almost every facet of the mainstream media. It's gotten so that you can hardly avoid references to homosexuality. It's all over the news and it's constantly discussed and endorsed in movies, television shows, and news programs.
Homosexuality has gone from the (so-called) "love that dare not speak its name" to the "love" that won't shut-up! (I'm not saying shut-up to be rude, I just read that description of the homosexual rights movement somewhere and I believe it rings true.)
Here’s the real beef I have with all the talk about homosexuality being harmless and just two people loving each other: its not love. It’s a fetish. That’s the big secret. It’s an acquired taste developed over time, sometimes more perceptibly than at other times, but developed and acquired. It’s an addiction, like alcoholism or any other addiction, and eventually, it consumes people. If you don’t believe me, read this: The Truth About the Homosexual Rights Movement. A homosexual wrote it and he is very honest about what homosexuality actually involves. It isn't graphic or disgusting in its detail. It is an honest, heartfelt life story and it is extremely eye opening. It really is worth reading.
Homosexuality is a serious problem in the Church, as my post above demonstrates. What is more, the things I cited above don't begin to cover the problem. Priests have been being arrested more and more for having sex in public restrooms with other men (or soliciting such things). They have been arrested for trying to pick up male prostitutes, as well. It's an enormous embarrassment. The most alarming thing about these media reports is that they only cover things that have been brought to light. God only knows what has gone on under the cover of darkness.
Priests are getting AIDS at four times the rate of the general population! Why doesn’t that make people stop and think?
Despite what homosexuals and the media would like us all to believe, homosexual sex is the primary cause of the spread of HIV. Yes, heterosexuals can get AIDS and HIV, but those heterosexuals that do contract the virus, generally get it through unnatural acts with a partner of the opposite sex, drug use (with shared needles), or bisexual infidelity.
AIDS is killing people, and it is a global problem. It is primarily spread by homosexual activity and unnatural sex.
The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in May 2006, and refer to the end of 2005:
AIDS is killing a lot of people. Yet people who don't view AIDS as a threat don't focus on these things and instead focus on the large number of abortions. I can understand how people would forget what a plague AIDS has become, especially since it has primarily affected only homosexuals in the U.S., but the death tolls are real and the numbers are beginning to rival the numbers that are killed through abortion.
Now, I never set out to compare abortion to homosexuality and try to say one is worse that the other, etc. Other people claimed I said it, but I cite these statistics in order to show that this is a real problem.
As Catholics, we can't support the use of condoms to stop the spread of AIDS & HIV, so it seems to me that the only way to stem the tide is to stop the behaviors that are spreading the disease, and those behaviors, for the most part, involve sexual sin.
Another factor to consider is that sexual sins are celebrated in society, whereas sins like alcohol and drug abuse, and disorders dealing with eating are still recognized as and things, even in the mainstream media. Although people commit all seven deadly sins all the time, I don't see them glorified as personal freedoms and basic human rights the way I see sins that deal with lust glorified.
I realize that only 1 to 4 % of the population is homosexual, so it might seem like its not really a problem or worth much attention. However, you might want to rethink that notion.
According to the US Census Bureau:
1% of the U.S. population = roughly 2,991,147 people
4% of the U.S. population = roughly 11,964,590 people
That's a lot of people! (I'll let you do the math on the world population percentages.)
All of those people have mothers, fathers, family, and friends. All of them, and those they are close to, are all around us and are working to influence and change society. Many, if not most, want society to accept homosexuality, and in a culture where most heterosexuals have lost their own moral compass, such a task is all the more likely to be successful.
So-called "gay rights" threaten our entire society, and the Church has said this repeatedly. Things like homosexual adoptions, homosexual marriages, and civil unions are a threat to the family unit in itself and to recognizing the value of the family unit in society.
If people don't wake up and realize the direction the homosexual agenda is striving to take society, then the battle is nearly over.
Personally, I believe the way out society is headed indicates "gay marriage" is an inevitability. It's just a matter of pressure and time. (FYI – that was a gratuitous Shawshank Redemption reference).
Incidentally homosexual marriage (or "gay' marriage) is a contradiction in terms in the same sense as one might speak of female bachelors or square circles. Marriage is literally the union between one man and one woman until death. Homosexual marriage requires that the very definition of marriage be gutted of its true meaning, and given the fact that most homosexual relationships are not monogamous and do not last until death (as marriage is supposed to) and instead tend to be rather volatile and unstable, so-called gay marriage can only lead to a denigration of people's understanding of what marriage means.
Countries who have adopted gay marriage have seen a decline in marriage altogether. The meaning of marriage is redefined, as is the meaning of family, and this is unbelievably harmful to society.
All that being said, if I were to mention what I believe to be the greatest threat to society, people might be surprised. I think it's artificial contraception and the war on female fertility. (I've posted about that in the pat too, but nobody commented.) The widespread acceptance of contraception caused people to believe sex and children are no longer intrinsically tied together. Once that's out the window, anything goes. Monogamy is no longer needed because marriage is for families and families are for children. So now we have a society where discreet promiscuity is considered normal, especially among younger people (older teens and young adults). This has led to a loss of respect for marriage (and a huge divorce rate, and I think divorce is right up there with contraception in terms of being one of the most evil things that frequently happen in modern times), and then these additional effects fuel even greater loss of respect for marriage and family life. Sex has become a means of recreation because of contraception. Sometimes it’s connected to feelings that resemble love, but often, even those feelings are missing and it’s all just an exercise in mutual self-gratification. It's very sad.
Contraception and the contraceptive mentality lead to abortion, which is one of the greatest evils of our age.
All sexual sins lead to a sort of structure of sin within society. They create broken homes and broken hearts. They damage people at the core of their very being, because they are so intimately connected with faculties that create new life and also the capacity to love. They also create situations that foment other sexual sin and it becomes a vicious cycle. Broken homes create absent fathers. Absent fathers foment lost little boys and girls who act out sexually in ways that range from simple fornication to promiscuity. Absent parents also influence the way we relate to persons of the same gender, and are a likely factor in what makes a person homosexual.
Sexual sin is the primary fuel for the culture of death, and that includes all sexual sins, and I am opposed to all such sins. That is why I have covered the topic of homosexuality (and other sexual sins) so frequently.
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 09:53 AM
Jean,
There aren't any holes in the natural law. the holes are in your logic and your incredibly incorrect understanding of what natural law is. It is interesting that your continued understanding allows you to rationalize your homosexual lifestyle and that you refuse to correct your misunderstanding.
You are biased by your attachment to your lifestyle. You refuse to learn what the natural law is and insist that your silly examples disprove the natural law. You may as well claim they prove global warming, because they do that just as well as you think they disprove the natural law!
If you knew what you were talking about, you would know how ridiculous your examples are and would never have offered them as support for your claims. So I feel safe in saying that you are completely misinformed in your understanding of the natural law.
As for your long term relationship, I told you: its only the sex that makes it sinful.
Those with homosexual tendencies are called to chastity. They can and should foster healthy sam-sex friendships that do not have a sexual component.
I will quote the Catholic Answers article on Gay Marriage linked in my earlier post:
Please read about the natural law using the links I provided, Jean. Having a proper understanding of the subject will make you more credible.
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 10:21 AM
I am attached to my lifestyle..um. Aren't you attached to your belief? As to the life giving aspect of a gay relationship if I were you I would stay VERY quiet as heterosexual relationship are mostly corrupted. If not why is it that more tha 60% divorce? And the percentage of infidelity/ disease is VERY high in numbers? WHy??????????? If this were the STATE to be in these numbers would not exist. No where [except in the catholic church's mind] does it say that the only way a love can be justified is if it is procreative or better yet reproductive? If this was strictly the care couples that can't procreate would not be valid and yet they are. yes I know you will say they are open...well..I am open to life too procreating I think goes beyond reproduction. If this is as far as any mind can go...pretty sad! I need to ask...are you a celibate person with a homosexual orientation?? I doubt very much a married heterosexual person would write like this.
Posted by: Jean | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 04:04 PM
Jean,
These statistics you quote would not be this high if each and every person had not only understood but also lived the wisdom of the Teachings of the Catholic Church. You have created your own world of thought based on a sinful lifestyle that has your mind disoriented because of your attachement to sin. Your heart and soul are darkened to the truth. I bet these words even repulse you. You will even use humor to distract from the truth. My close friend who died of Aids was asked how he dealt with temptation a few years before the disease took his life. He laughed and said, "God is so Wise, all of my energy has been removed, thats how I deal with temptation." Guess what Jean? My deceased friend used to sound just like you. My deceased friend received the grace and desire to confess his sad and promiscuous life and died in the state of grace. My friend's mother was a Hollwood actress who brought many men home. My friend was repeatedly molested as a young boy. His life was one betrayal after another. I am grateful to God for letting me see this beautiful transformation of mind and soul. You still have too much energy Jean. Please remember that you are loved by all of us. You probably have had many betrayals too. I say a prayer for you each time you post. Don't be resentful to Catholics who would lay down their life to protect you. They know that the "lived" Teachings of the Church by all parties involved in marraige, result in happy homes. Yes, they are rare but so is the adherence to the Teachings. You do have free will Jean. If you want me to say a prayer each time I see your name, keep blogging. That will be a little sign that you really do want the grace. God please protect and enlighten Jean!
Posted by: Atlanta Catholic | Sunday, July 02, 2006 at 07:07 PM