[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Rayn

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

Dear Rayn: I am also Catholic. I left the church for about 20 years and have been back for 20 years. I suppose some might call me a "cafeteria catholic." Because there is much that the Church teaches that I do not accept. One of them that I disagree strongly with is their position on birth control. The Church has always been screwed up when it comes to sexuality. They've based much of their teachings on St. Augustine who led a very permisculous life in his youth and then repented and came to a place where he believed that sex was ONLY for procreation.

I'm copying below, a beautiful piece written by former Methodist minister Jimmy Creech. Jimmy is a straight ally who was defrocked for celebrating same gender marriages. I firmly feel that Jimmy's take on same gender love is right on target.

Kara

We Are Born To Be Lovers
by Jimmy Creech
October 2003

We are born to be lovers. We are not meant to be alone. Basic to who we
are as human beings is the instinct to reach out from ourselves to care
for, nurture, empower and protect those we love; and, it is basic to each
of us to desire and accept the care, nurture, empowerment and protection
from those who love us. To love is to be connected, to be in a mutual
and equal relationship others. Out of such love grows intimacy,
friendship, marriage, family and community.

Our love is embodied. Our sexuality is the physical, intellectual,
emotional and spiritual capacity to give and to receive love. Having
affectionate feelings for another is not enough. We cannot love
intimately and truly without our whole selves, without our bodies. Love
must be physical as well as emotional, intellectual and spiritual.

The capacity to love is not just a gift from God, it is God's presence
alive and active in our very beings. We embody God when we love. To be a
lover is what is meant when we say we are created in God's image. To be a
lover is to know God. There is no such thing as an unholy love.

Love knows no boundaries, no barriers, no limits. It is the nature of
love to push us out of selfishness, fear and ignorance to overcome
boundaries and barriers in order to love another person.

Love is free without restraints. Loving someone intimately is a human
right that cannot be regulated by law, religion or culture. There is no
government, no religion, no cultural custom that has the authority, the
power to tell us who we must love intimately. And, there is no
government, no religion, no cultural custom that has the authority, the
power to tell us we cannot love someone intimately because of her or his
race, ethnicity, religion, class, family or gender. To love someone
intimately is to be connected to that person on a deep and spiritual
level that defies and ignores all social categories and classifications
of people.

Let no one tell you that your love is unnatural, immoral, unhealthy or
sinful because your love does not conform to their prejudices and fears.
Love between persons is more than normal, more than wholesome: it is
divine.

Trust you love. Believe in it. It is love that makes a marriage and a
family, not government and not religion. Honor your love as precious and
innately holy. Don't wait for others to honor it. Your love does not
depend upon someone else's approval or acceptance. And, the more you
honor your love, the more others will understand your love and honor your
love.

Trust your love. Believe in it and you will change the world!