Comments on: “You Can’t Be a Catholic…”

By: Ed Mechmann

Ed Mechmann — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:50:51 +0000

Joey, I would urge you to look into the group Courage, which helps people with same-sex attraction live good, happy and holy lives, in accordance with the teachings of the Church.

By: joey

joey — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:23:22 +0000

Thank you for your response and explanation. It has cleared my confusion on the terminology. Lately it has been a struggle for me to accept the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. I was bullied for much of my life, and the pain it caused made me closer to God. Last year, I discovered that I am gay. I didn’t understand why God made me this way, but I believe he did it for a reason. I feel his presence within my heart and have continued to feel a sense of purpose after speaking to some friends. This is why I don’t believe that homosexuality is intrinsically evil. I feel within me, a calling by God to be accept myself for who I am. It hurts when I see and read stories of Catholics and other Christians opposing homosexuality, especially when done by hierarchical members. I do not wish to blame anyone, but this pain exists for many people. I feel betrayed by the Church, unfortunately, although I maintain a strong relationship with God. I want to request more open talks and ideas about homosexuality within the Church community. As a member of the Catholic Church, I am deeply committed to helping others within the community. God has called me to speak about my experiences to others, so that they will have a better understanding of the situation. Is it possible to email the archbishop and other members of the archdiocese in order to express my concerns and beliefs?

By: Ed Mechmann

Ed Mechmann — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:41:58 +0000

I don’t think you understand the term “intrinsically evil” as Catholics use it. Let me explain.

The notion of “intrinsic evil” is central to Catholic moral doctrine, and has been so from the beginning. It is based on the idea that there are certain acts that can never be morally acceptable under any circumstances, regardless of one’s motive in doing so — things like rape, adultery, perjury, blasphemy, murder, genocide, torture. This is part of Divine Revelation (see the Ten Commandments), and is also knowable by natural reason because it is written into the human heart in the natural moral law. There is no way we can be “open” to the idea that these kinds of acts could ever be morally acceptable.

One who commits an intrinsically evil act has breached communion with the Church, because he has breached communion with God — he has damaged his relationship with God, and needs to be reconciled to Him. This breach can be caused by an affirmative act (e.g., if I do it myself), or by omission (e.g., if a legislator fails to protect people from acts of violence by permitting abortion).

The Galileo case had nothing to do with moral doctrines, or with universal moral truths.

The people who constitute the Church are not perfect — far from it!. But we as Catholics believe that the Church Herself is preserved from error by the Holy Spirit on fundamental matters of faith and morals. The technical theological term for this is “indefectibility”.

I hope that helps you better understand the point I was making.

By: joey

joey — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:28:51 +0000

I agree that Catholics should not label themselves as “true catholics” compared to others who don’t follow the main doctrines of the Catholic Church. However, if one is attempting to produce an informative article, that person should refrain from using words such as “intrinsically evil.” Additionally, how do you know that some of these “evil” laws are breaching communion within the church? Not everything the Church says and does is necessarily correct in judgement. For example, the Church imprisoned Galileo for his discoveries of the nature of the earth’s movement around the sun. Later, the Church apologized for this imprisonment. The Church is not perfect, and thus must become more open-minded to certain issues. This will eventually strengthen the Church as a “Catholic” (UNIVERSAL) Church.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:32:05 +0000

Your essay took me back to Sunday’s reading 1 Ez 33:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel;
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.
If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die, ”
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.
But if you warn the wicked,
trying to turn him from his way,
and he refuses to turn from his way,
he shall die for his guilt,
but you shall save yourself.

I like Ezechiel’s no nonsense approach to our neighbor’s unfaithfulness. Whether 33:7-9 is meant for ordinary pewsitters or not, it is supremely adaptable to our times. So, for example, if I’m thoroughly disgusted with Governor Cuomo, better that I warn him to turn away from his wickedness than be consumed by legalities only to lose my own life in the process.