The Catholic church must learn to listen to LGBT people if it wants to meet them
Article by Father Paul Keller CMF* published on the website of the Catholic monthly US Catholic (United States) on 24 June 2016, freely translated by Giacomo Tessaro
We are once again witness to a devastating and horrendous mass murder. On June 12, 2016, a violent, heavily armed and psychologically impaired young US citizen, who professed hatred of LGBT people and allegiance to radical and violent Islam, killed 49 people and injured 53 others. These types of shootings happen regularly in the United States: this is the latest and most lethal.
Many reacted with the usual statements about remembering those killed and their loved ones with thoughts and prayers. But some Catholic bishops reacted to the shooting at Pulse, the gay club in Orlando, in a way that goes beyond all these all-too-familiar sentiments. These bishops seem to want to adopt the much more inclusive pastoral vision of Pope Francis, a vision that puts into practice the “meeting culture” towards those who think very differently from us on certain issues.
The bishop of St. Petersburg (Florida), Robert Lynch, called for a ban on firearms designed for mass murder and rejected the closing of borders to Muslims as contrary to the American spirit. But that's not all: the bishop also expressed his dismay at the fact that believers can express hatred and contempt for LGBT people, in order to facilitate acts of violence against them.
Likewise, Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich deplored gun violence and, referring to the gay and lesbian communities as “our brothers and sisters”, he said “We are with you”. The bishop of San Diego (California) Robert McElroy instead wrote: “This tragedy is a reminder for us catholics to fight even more vigorously against anti-homosexual prejudice in our catholic community and in our Country.”
To understand the true impact of the bishops' words, let's look at other church Statements regarding lGBT people. In 1997, The committee On marriage and family life, an emanation of the united States conference of Catholic Bishops, approved the document Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers (Always our children: pastoral message to parents of homosexual children and suggestions for those responsible for pastoral care). This document was warmly welcomed by many for its gentle pastoral tone; for the same reason he was criticized by others, who wanted homosexual behavior to be defined more strictly and as seriously sinful.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “A non-negligible number of men and women have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies. This inclination, objectively disordered, constitutes a test for most of them. [Catholic prelates have only very recently and rarely begun to use the terms LGBT and gays and lesbians.] Therefore they must be welcomed with respect, compassion and delicacy. In their regard, any sign of unjust discrimination will be avoided". Let's leave aside for a moment the philosophical and technical meaning of the expression “objectively disordered”: what is a “unfair” discrimination? In 1992 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the document “Some considerations concerning the response to legislative proposals on the non-discrimination of homosexual people”. This document condemns violence against gays and lesbians; however, many other forms of “fair” discrimination against LGBT people are accepted in public housing, the workplace, adoption and military service. From these considerations it seems that the only unacceptable behavior towards LGBT people is violent aggression.
The recent declarations of the bishops following the Orlando tragedy seem to go beyond the very mediocre and minimalist conception of discrimination offered by the Congregation. With an act typical of Pope Francis, these bishops directly or indirectly address some burning questions to the Church. What it means for us to consider LGBT people “our brothers and sisters”? How do Catholics have contempt for LGBT people? Where can we find and how can we combat the anti-homosexual prejudice that exists in the Catholic community? Our bishops should provide us with guidance on the anti-LGBT prejudice and contempt that exists within the Catholic Church. Continuing to remain silent is neither morally courageous nor pastorally responsible.
No normal human being should have a problem condemning acts of violence caused by sexual orientation. However, as a Catholic community, we must do much more than simply condemn violence. For example, in many states it is legal to fire someone for being gay, lesbian, or transgender. If we believe this represents unjust discrimination, why isn't our Church at the forefront of putting an end to it? We certainly cannot boast of explicitly condemning violence against LGBT people: who doesn't? Can't we, as a Church, do better? Shouldn't we be active in ending other forms of unfair discrimination?
Given the way the Catholic Church has spoken out about LGBT people and its position against the moral acceptability of same-sex behavior and marriage, we will probably not be a welcome presence in the fight against discrimination, at least at first. But this is all the more reason to raise our voice. If the Catholic Church is to have any moral credibility on issues such as same-sex marriage or the natural moral purposes of sexual intimacy, then we as Catholics must be prepared to spend time and money to fight the injustices suffered by our brothers and sisters LGBT. We must not feel obliged to change or water down our moral teachings but to finally look and act like Jesus Christ in our fight for justice. This is one of the most decisive lessons we should learn from Pope Francis.
The only experience some have of the Catholic Church is being told that they or their favorite uncle, kindest teacher, or most generous neighbor are “severely disordered”, “intrinsically bad” or a “abomination”. Faced with the dignity of their own or their loved ones being belittled and insulted, these people, without understanding the technical terms of moral theology, could conclude that it is the Church itself that is “severely disordered” or “inherently bad”. To persuade these people that this is not the case, the Catholic Church should be more willing to show solidarity and work on behalf of communities that suffer unjustly, even when it does not share that community's ideas.
* Father Paul Keller CMF is a Catholic priest and Claretian missionary. He is pursuing a doctorate in theology and philosophy of religion. His online column, Smells like sheep speaks to the places where pastoral ministry, public policy, theology, and ethics converge.
Original text: Catholicism and LGBT discrimination
