The nation's
Roman Catholic bishops said Wednesday they are developing
new guidelines for ministry to gays, reaffirming church
opposition to same-sex marriage and adoption by gays,
while condemning discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation. The draft document encourages parishes to
make gays feel welcome and provide them pastoral support,
noting that many ''are ardently striving to live their faith
within the Catholic community so as not to fall into
the lifestyle and values of a 'gay subculture.'''
But the authors repeatedly state that any such
ministries must be led by people who uphold church
teaching on sexuality, and they assert that Catholic
leaders have a right to ''deny roles of service'' in the
church to people who violate that teaching. ''It is
not sufficient for those involved in this ministry to
adopt a position of distant neutrality with regard to
church teaching,'' according to the document. ''Love and
truth go together.''
The proposed guidelines, in development since
2002, will be put to a vote and possibly amended by
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops when they meet
November 13-16 in Baltimore. Last year the Vatican
Congregation for Catholic Education issued an
''instruction'' stating that men with ''deep-seated''
homosexual attraction should not be ordained. This latest
U.S. bishops' proposal focuses on support for gay Catholics,
not whether they should become priests.
The document explains the Catholic view of
same-sex attraction as ''disordered,'' emphasizing
that sexuality was given as a gift from God to draw
men and women together to marry and have children. Gay
relationships ''violate the true purpose of sexuality,'' as
do adultery and contraception, the authors wrote.
The document also responds to criticism that the
church's position is unjust. Catholic teaching is
based on ''objective moral norms,'' not prejudice, the
authors wrote. Western societies don't recognize this
reasoning because they generally embrace ''moral relativism"
while promoting ''hedonism'' and ''an obsession with
the pursuit of pleasure,'' the document states.
On the topic of therapy to change same-sex
attraction, the proposed guidelines state that there
is no scientific consensus on whether the counseling
is effective, so there is ''no moral obligation to attempt
it.'' However, gays should learn to live chaste and celibate
lives, the drafters wrote.
Sam Sinnett, president of DignityUSA, which
represents gay and lesbian Catholics, said it is clear
the document was prepared ''by none of us for whom it
is intended.'' ''They speak in willful ignorance about
people in same-gender families. They speak in willful
ignorance about homosexuality--sexuality in
general,'' Sinnett said. ''They are continuing to
discriminate against us.'' (Rachel Zoll, AP)
