Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Saturday, May 03, 2008

Clarification on church teaching on homosexuality

By Barry Peratt and Steve Hesse

In a recent edition, John Rupkey responded to an earlier article from Joe Losinski regarding the homosexual lifestyle.

In it, John stated that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah “has absolutely nothing to do with gay love.”

In fact, Israelite tradition was unanimous in ascribing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to the wickedness of these cities, but tradition varied in regard to the nature of this wickedness because it was multi-faceted.

In Genesis 19:1-29 and again in the book of Jude (v. 7), that wickedness was described as homosexual activity (which is therefore also known as “sodomy”). According to Ezekiel 16:46-51, it involved, in addition to “detestable things,” a disregard for the poor, and in Jeremiah 23:14, it was described as a general immorality.

Scripture continues to point out the immorality of homosexual acts in Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.

For those who would maintain that a more rigorous and nuanced study of the Bible would reveal otherwise, an analysis of the latest Biblical scholarship (e.g. “Clarifications sur l’Homosexualité dans la Bible” by Jean-Baptiste Edart, Innocent Himbaza, and Adrian Schenker, 2007) strongly corroborates the view presented here. The Bible takes a clear and definitive stand that these actions are not in accord with God’s will.

The Catholic Church, for its part, teaches that any sexual pleasure is morally unacceptable when sought for itself and isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2351). This description obviously includes many sexual acts, both inside and outside of a valid marriage (e.g. adultery, self-gratification, pornography, contracepted intercourse), and not just homosexual acts. All of these acts fall short of the beauty which God intends for us to enjoy as the full expression of our sexuality.

Certain individuals continue to label the Catholic Church as homophobic, and Pope Benedict XVI as one of the greatest proponents of homophobia.

A generally accepted definition of “homophobia” is: “unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality” (Random House Unabridged Dictionary). So, to be homophobic, one should be fearful of homosexuals without any reason, or must show dislike or repugnance toward them.

Yet, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2358) states: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is 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, unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

So it’s clear that the Church teaches love and respect for our homosexual brothers and sisters, and not fear of them.

Likewise, there are many well-reasoned concerns to be had about the homosexual lifestyle, as the results of numerous studies show.

One such study, conducted by researchers in Canada and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) in 1997, concluded that “under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men … are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.”

Indeed, the life expectancy of active male homosexuals has long been significantly less than that of the general population, even before the advent of AIDS, due to a host of health complications associated with the male homosexual act. All of this is accompanied by high incidences of depression and substance abuse, even in gay-friendly cities such as San Francisco.

France, a progressive country in many ways, commissioned an extensive “Inquiry on the Family and the Rights of Children” in 2006, which recommended against the recognition of same-sex marriage and especially against adoption by same-sex couples due to the foreseen negative consequences on children and the family. These are legitimate concerns which do not reflect “unreasoning fear” of homosexuals or the homosexual lifestyle.

We realize that this is a very difficult subject for many people to discuss, so it takes added effort to be patient with and have respect for one another.

One of God’s two greatest commandments is “to love one another as ourselves,” so he is expecting us to do just that.

The other, however, is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” That includes accepting his teachings and his will for our lives, especially when it is challenging and unpopular to do so.

Steve Hesse is an electrical engineer at Benchmark Electronics in Winona. Berry Perrat is a an associate professor of mathematics at Winona State University.