The recent court decision about the possible marriage between transsexuals reactivated the debate about people with a homosexual orientation and their relationship to the Church. A University lecturer brought the subject up during the Archbishop's first official visit on campus. Quite naturally the debate is not only a local one. Churches in different countries faced the issue.
The US bishops have been in the vanguard of the debate and the pastoral outreach that the Church in that large country embarks on. Last November, a large majority of the US bishops approved a new document which would guide their care for homosexual men and women. The document, entitled "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care," aims at placing an emphasis on welcoming and offering support for men and women who, due to homosexual inclinations, "feel themselves to be unwelcome and rejected," by the Church.
The drafting committee was chaired by Bishop Arthur Serratelli. He described the tone of the document as positive, pastoral, and welcoming. The document's starting point is the intrinsic human dignity of every person and God's love for every person. As a logical result, every person who ministers in the name of the Church must respect this human dignity.
The bishops did not play around with words. They clearly said that "the homosexual inclination is objectively disordered, i.e. it is an inclination that predisposes one toward what is truly not good for the human person." This could be considered as a controversial comment indeed, especially in the North American context.
The document also points out the importance of emphasising the Christian understanding of virtue and the need for growth in virtue among all Catholics, especially the virtue of chastity. The Church, Bishop Serratelli noted, "tells each person to live out the universal call to holiness. This call often comes with struggle and self-denial."
The bishops noted the possibility for those people who experience their homosexual attractions as an "unwanted burden," to seek therapeutic help, but noted that "there is currently no scientific consensus on the cause of the homosexual inclination," and, "no consensus on therapy."
The document also dismisses the idea of homosexual "marriage", in the context of placing the discussion of homosexuality within the greater context of God's plan for sexuality. "The complementary sexuality of man and woman is part of God's creative design," Bishop Serratelli said, noting that human sexuality is naturally created for the bond of marriage that has two natural ends, the expression of marital love and the procreation and education of children.
A large portion of the document offers a more practical consideration of the pastoral care for those with homosexual inclinations, taking a look at their participation within the life and sacraments of the Church, particular catechesis for such people, and means of offering pastoral support.
The document is a clear example of pastoral outreach based on objective truth tempered by Christian compassion.