Quote:
Originally Posted by Rayn
... I'm a 20 yr. old Catholic and find much of the Soulforce resources to be helpful. I'm still unsure about the Catholic stance that the gay community must abstain and be celibate. It's very understandable where they are coming from. However, it just bothers me as to why our Loving God would give us these normal, human, sexual attractions and feelings and then what am I supposed to do to reject it?
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Kinda counterintuitive, don't you think?
I grew up a Catholic, even went into a religious order for a while. It was years before I could accept my sexuality as a God-given gift and not a plague. I'm no longer a Catholic. I'm active in the Episcopal Church, which feels like home now, but even here heterosexism is rampant.
I think the Catholic Church, indeed all of Christianity, is forgetting one of its deepest spiritual traditions around celibacy. The church always maintained that celibacy is not for everyone, but is a special calling for a few. There's no way I can reconcile that teaching with the position that all gay people must be celibate. Of course, the Catholic Church regards gay sexual relationships as sinful while saying "being" gay is not sinful in itself. Huh?
Ryan, I hope you can arrive at a place of peace where you can thank God for creating you as a gay man. Then you will be able to claim it as a blessing which flows out to enrich the lives of others.
Welcome to Soulforce. Welcome home.