Hi guys, I should probably start but highlighting that I really don't want this post to bring any hatred towards different communities. Anyway, I've had crushes on numerous people of the same sex and I'm fairly sure I'm falling for someone. Although I'm a Catholic, I'm a bit confused as to the actual teachings of the Catholic church these days. Obviously it's not in favour of 'marriage' but agrees with unions and treating the LGBT community with equality and respect. But if anyone can explain to me, at what point do homosexual tendencies/desires actually become 'sin' in Catholicism? Thank you for any guidance you can provide
Wow - what a question! The official Catholic position on sexual ethics is rooted in a rather literal understanding of scripture. The most conservative position is that all same sex relationships are wrong, but a more liberal take is that the relationships are not inherently wrong, providing they don't include sexual intimacy. I think the current Pope has shifted the church position in this direction, but we should be under no illusions that the hierarchy of the Catholic church has fully embraced same sex relationships. Of course, this isn't necessarily the view of all Catholics or all Catholic clergy and a good many follow their own conscience when it comes to sexual ethics, but it remains the official position that sex between two men or two women is sinful. There is a bigger question about the way the church is choosing to interpret scripture to arrive at such a position, but that might be for another thread.
So one of the really cool things about Catholicism is that while there is a clear standing from the Pope and scripture, most Catholics are not super into following every single thing that Pope or the church says. Its confusing for outsiders, but might be the reason why you are confused. The biggest example is condoms. While the Catholic church is only now kinda changing its stand on contraception, the grand majority of catholics (I believe its around 75%) believe that there is nothing wrong with condoms. So it truly is a religion that you can mold it and make it fit the way you want your relationship with God to be. My grandma is super Catholic. Doesn't miss mass, prays the rosary twice a day, and so much more. But even she told me that she doesn't believe me being gay is a sin. She still doesn't get it, but she knows she loves me, she knows im happy, and she believes in her heart that God is okay with that. When I brought up that the Church itself doesn't think that, she just shrugged. Its that simple to her. We have a family priest who has been with us for years. Saw me grow up and the dude is great for the most part. When my mom told him about me, he simply told her that family is what matters and that as long as I have a relationship with God it will be okay (of course she is still in denial that I'm an atheists but that neither here nor there lol) This all to say, it is up to you. You don't have to choose one or the other and there are many congregations out there who accept LGBT people. Just have to find them.
