Readers,
An explanation for the radio silence: this week has become progressively busy and so I'll be writing a longer and critical piece around the issue of gay men and their relationships with specific reference to the Church's teaching on homosexuality and what implications this has for relationship formation; friendship; and the possibility of entering into and forming families. I am focusing on gay men because I've had a number of gay men that have addressed this question to me and I think a critical response is necessary if we're to think about what a
liveable life looks like for gay men: a life that is liveable as opposed to an existence in the Church, and a life that is characterised by grace as opposed to fear (i.e. of loneliness). This is a really important issue for me because I think it's a particular area (relationships and family) where gay Catholics not only find their identities policed (i.e. the conflation of cohabitation and sexual incontinence) but also find themselves marginalised from civic life under the specious justification that their sexuality makes anything more than
disinterested friendship (I abhor that term!) a potential occasion of sin.
So I look forward to deconstructing these issues and hopefully connecting with and providing a potential moment of grace for all those gay men that have lived under self-imposed isolation for the sake of their faith.
I have chosen to talk about gay men and their relationships because I am wary of attempting to speak for those whom I have no privilege or authority to speak for (i.e. the lives of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics): I do hope my article resonates with you and otherwise please contact me if you have any particular experience you'd like to describe or articulate from this point.
God Bless you readers, and my thanks for all the very kind e-mails and Blog and Facebook comments: knowing that my work here is connecting with you is really important and helps facilitate the process of writing. Keep commenting, questioning, and praying!
Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
An important, much neglected topic in orthodox Catholic thinking. My starting points are two verses from scripture, and an observation by Pope Benedict.
ReplyDeleteIn Genesis 2 we read, "It is not good that man should live alone. I will make him a companion". and in Paul "It is better to marry than to burn". There is nothing whatever to suggest that these should not apply also to those of a same - sex affectional orientation.
Pope Benedict, in his book length interview "Light of the world", had an important observation on the requirement of priestly celibacy. He stated that this is difficult - but becomes "possible", when lived in community with others. Logically, this implies that it becomes much less possible, for those living alone.
Elsewhere, in connection with priestly celibacy, I read an observation by a professional psychologist that this is unhealthy, because science has shown that mental health requires that we be hugged frequently - and who is there to hug our priests? Exactly the same principle surely applies to any one else that is required by Vatican doctrine to live a life of sexual abstinence.
For me, it is self-evident that we all need the benefit of living in committed, faithful, loving and socially acknowledged relationships - or the opportunity of doing so.
The tragedy of the bishops' hardline opposition to equal marriage, is that they have simply failed to come up with any credible alternative.