{"id":84,"date":"2009-10-09T09:16:41","date_gmt":"2009-10-09T09:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/10\/well-that-seems-to-be.html"},"modified":"2009-10-09T09:16:41","modified_gmt":"2009-10-09T09:16:41","slug":"well-that-seems-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/10\/well-that-seems-to-be.html","title":{"rendered":"The Catholic Church and gays"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The Church hates gay people.” <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Well, judging from some of the comments around here, that’s the impression some people have.   It couldn’t be further from the truth. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For a clear and concise explanation of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, check out this blog post<\/a> by a monsignor in the Archdiocese of Washington.  <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
And for a very good pastoral approach to the subject, you can do no better than to read “Always Our Children,” <\/a> the compassionate and sympathetic letter on this subject issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1997. <\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
It concludes with these prayerful words: <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

For St. Paul love is the greatest of spiritual gifts. St. John considers love to be the most certain sign of God’s presence. Jesus proposes it as the basis of his two great commandments, which fulfill all the law and the prophets.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n

Love, too, is the continuing story of every family’s life. Love can be shared, nurtured, rejected, and sometimes lost. To follow Christ’s way of love is the challenge before every family today. Your family now has an added opportunity to share love and to accept love. Our church communities are likewise called to an exemplary standard of love and justice. Our homosexual sisters and brothers–indeed, all people–are summoned into responsible ways of loving.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n

To our homosexual brothers and sisters we offer a concluding word. This message has been an outstretched hand to your parents and families inviting them to accept God’s grace present in their lives now and to trust in the unfailing mercy of Jesus our Lord. Now we stretch out our hands and invite you to do the same. We are called to become one body, one spirit in Christ. We need one another if we are to ” . . . grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:15-16).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n

Though at times you may feel discouraged, hurt, or angry, do not walk away from your families, from the Christian community, from all those who love you. In you God’s love is revealed. You are always our children.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To which I can only add: Amen.  
<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Church hates gay people.”  Well, judging from some of the comments around here, that’s the impression some people have.   It couldn’t be further from the truth.  For a clear and concise explanation of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, check out this blog post by a monsignor in the Archdiocese of Washington.   And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bishops"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Catholic Church and gays - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/10\/well-that-seems-to-be.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Catholic Church and gays - 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Prior to that, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News, where he contributed to \"The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,\" \"60 Minutes II,\" \"48 Hours,\" (Emmy Award, Writers Guild of America Award) and \"Sunday Morning.\" He was co-writer for the acclaimed documentary \"9\/11,\" hosted by Robert DeNiro. (Emmy Award, Christopher Award, Peabody Award, Writers Guild of America Award.) His radio essays were featured in the bestselling book \"Deadlines and Datelines\" by Dan Rather. He's also a two-time winner of the Catholic Press Association Award. Other places you may find him: AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC, CATHOLIC DIGEST, REALITY (Redemptorist Communications) and THE BROOKLYN TABLET. He also contributes homiletic reflections to the parish resource CONNECT!, published by Liturgical Publications. In November 2009, he began serving a three-year term as a consultant to the Communications Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Deacon Greg grew up in Maryland (Go Terps!) but he and his wife today live in the beautiful borough of Queens, New York. 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