Why is the Church opposed to homosexuality?
The Church’s position on homosexuality is often misunderstood. While most in the debate over homosexuality adopt a polarized position – favoring either complete approval of same-sex relationships, or opposition to any and all rights for homosexuals – Catholic teaching finds a middle ground. Its course is moral yet pastoral, true to the Church’s sexual moral tradition yet not inflexible or intolerant.
The Church distinguishes between homosexual orientation and same-sex genital activity. Since in most cases homosexuality is discerned or discovered, and not freely chosen, the Catholic Church teaches that it is not automatically a sin. The Church promotes respect and justice toward homosexual persons who discover their desires and inclinations toward same-sex sexual activity. Yet the Church has consistently taught that to act on these inclinations by engaging in homosexual genital acts is always morally wrong. Why so? Here the Church attempts to be true to the core premises of our Catholic sexual-ethics tradition, while at the same time fostering basic human dignity and pastoral care toward gay and lesbian persons.
This teaching has critics on both sides of the debate. We cannot address them in a short summary such as this, which must necessarily be limited in its scope. We encourage you to follow the link below to a more complete article on Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality.
The Church distinguishes between homosexual orientation and same-sex genital activity. Since in most cases homosexuality is discerned or discovered, and not freely chosen, the Catholic Church teaches that it is not automatically a sin. The Church promotes respect and justice toward homosexual persons who discover their desires and inclinations toward same-sex sexual activity. Yet the Church has consistently taught that to act on these inclinations by engaging in homosexual genital acts is always morally wrong. Why so? Here the Church attempts to be true to the core premises of our Catholic sexual-ethics tradition, while at the same time fostering basic human dignity and pastoral care toward gay and lesbian persons.
This teaching has critics on both sides of the debate. We cannot address them in a short summary such as this, which must necessarily be limited in its scope. We encourage you to follow the link below to a more complete article on Catholic teaching regarding homosexuality.