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In this time and place where most Catholics (and Catholic clergy to be honest) have all but whitewashed the grave seriousness of the sin of active homosexuality (and all the unnatural things coming from it). It is the norm today. But what has the Catholic Church always taught about this very sin? (Yes, it is a sin). St. Bernardine of Siena is known for his writings about active homosexuality, and they all go something like this:
“No sin has greater power over the soul than the one of cursed sodomy, which was always detested by all those who lived according to God’s law. …
Such passion for untenable practices borders on madness. This vice disturbs the intellect, unbalances an elevated and generous state of soul, drags lofty thoughts down to base ones, makes men pusillanimous and irascible, obstinate and hardened, servilely soft and incapable of anything.
Furthermore, the will, agitated by the insatiable drive for pleasure, no longer follows reason but rather the tumult of the passions. …
One who lives practicing the vice of sodomy will suffer more pain in Hell than anyone else, because this is the worst sin that exists.” (1)
Father of the Church St. Ambrose, in his commentary on Deuteronomy 22:5 195 writes, "If you consider it truly, there is an incongruity that nature itself abhors. For why, man, do you not want to appear to be what you were born as? Why do you put on a strange guise? Why do you ape a woman? Or why do you, woman, ape a man? Nature arrays each sex with its own garments. Men and women have different customs, different complexions, gestures and gaits, different sorts of strength, different voices."
Doctor of the Church and Church Father, St. John Chrysostom writes in the same tone of voice concerning this sin of sodomy, "Consider how great is that sin, to have forced hell to appear even before its time!… For that rain was unwonted, for the intercourse was contrary to nature, and it deluged the land, since lust had done so with their souls. Wherefore also the rain was the opposite of the customary rain. Now not only did it fail to stir up the womb of the earth to the production of fruits, but made it even useless for the reception of seed. For such was also the intercourse of the men, making a body of this sort more worthless than the very land of Sodom. And what is there more detestable than a man who hath pandered himself, or what more execrable?"
Pope Saint Gregory the Great, another Father and Doctor of the Church writes, "Sacred Scripture itself confirms that sulfur evokes the stench of the flesh, as it speaks of the rain of fire and sulfur poured upon Sodom by the Lord. He had decided to punish Sodom for the crimes of the flesh, and the very type of punishment he chose emphasized the shame of that crime. For sulfur stinks, and fire burns. So it was just that Sodomites, burning with perverse desires arising from the flesh like stench, should perish by fire and sulfur so that through this just punishment they would realize the evil they had committed, led by a perverse desire." (2)
Can such a grave sin and stench in the Holy Face of Almighty God lessen in time!? No!
Saint Thomas Aquinas writes, "Man can sin against nature in two ways. First, when he sins against his specific rational nature, acting contrary to reason. In this sense, we can say that every sin is a sin against man’s nature, because it is against man’s right reason....
"Secondly, man sins against nature when he goes against his generic nature, that is to say, his animal nature. Now, it is evident that, in accord with the natural order, the union of the sexes among animals is ordered towards conception. From this, it follows that every sexual intercourse that cannot lead to conception is opposed to man’s animal nature." (3)
Great voices in the Catholic Church repeat, over and over, "these are vile acts!". Those whose voices we still turn to when looking at theology, scripture and answering questions concerning the Catholic Faith, cried out in detestation to these vile acts against God and nature. (I also highly recommend reading this article, which gives these and more quotes on this topic.)
But does this mean we, as Catholics are truly "homophobic"? No!
Doctor of the Church and reformer of clergy, St. Peter Damien, who wrote the book "The Book of Gommorah" explains, "Alas, it is shameful to speak of it (sodomy)! It is shameful to relate such a disgusting scandal to sacred ears! But if the doctor fears the virus of the plague, who will apply the cauterization? If he is nauseated by those whom he is to cure, who will lead sick souls back to the state of health?” It is interesting that in his book, which so explains the gravity of this very sin, calls his clergy not to fear this "plague" but, while acknowledging its evil and sickness, to give great aid to those who are suffering with it.
Does this mean that those practicing these unnatural acts and living these lives are merely "born that way" and that there is "no way out"? No!
Josh Sciambra is a former active homosexual who writes and speaks much on this very subject. He answers the question, "'Should I refer to myself as 'gay' or as a 'gay Christian' or a 'gay Catholic?'"
"It is better," he replies, "when asked, or when giving testimony, to describe yourself as Christian or a Catholic man who experiences (or experienced in the past) “same-sex attraction.” To self-identify as “gay,” no matter the intentions of your heart, is to publicly align oneself with a socially and historically charged word: in the past, “gay” simply meant happy or joyful; since the acquisition of the word by the modern homosexual movement, “gay” is identified with such things as “gay” sex, “gay” marriage, and “gay” porn. Therefore, to simply will that the word now have a different connotation does not make it so."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1993 version) while repeating what the saints before have said that homosexual acts, "are contrary to the natural law. " and "Under no circumstances can they be approved." (CCC 2357) says, " The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection." (CCC 2368-2329)
Jesus says in Luke 5:32, " I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance." This is not just condemning such a vile sin, that drags souls down to hell if unrepented, but to pull these dear suffering souls out of the mire and filth and bring them to Christ and show them the path of repentance, peace and (hopefully in the end) heaven!
We are not our acts, but the LGBTQ+ movement shaves people down to their unnatural and sinful desires, instead of whole persons, souls bought at such a high price by Christ. Souls that God loves so deeply that, as St. Augustine says, "love each of us as if there were only one of us!" Souls that God so loves, that He would indeed die on the Cross and undergo each of His sufferings in the Passion again and again if there was only one of us created! God LOVES you and me! But, as we are taught in the Catholic Church, mortal sin deprives us of life and cuts us off from the grace of God. Only repentance, Confession, can we start again to know, love, and serve God in this life to be with Him in the next.
This is indeed why this must be called out; out of love for these souls who being dragged through the filth, in misery, and away from God. It is for the love of souls. For, love is wanting the best for a person, and "wanting the best for a person" is desiring them to go to heaven, and not suffer eternal suffering in Hell when they die.
Our Lady at Fatima said, "Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and to pray for them."
RESOURCES:
Joseph Nicolosi : https://www.josephnicolosi.com/
Joseph Sciambra Ministries : https://josephsciambra.com/jesus-loves-gay-men/
Courage (A Roman Catholic apostolate for men and women who experience same-sex attractions and those who love them.) : https://couragerc.org/
Love is Love - Emily's Story : https://anchorednorth.org/love-is-love/
An Ex-Gay responds to Fr. James Martin SJ : https://josephsciambra.com/a-response-to-james-martin-s-j/
"Disordered: A Critical Examination of Gay Life and Culture From One Who Survived." : https://josephsciambra.com/product/disordered-a-critical-examination-of-gay-life-and-culture-from-one-who-survived-international-customers/?epik=dj0yJnU9YVdnOEZQTEFhakZoUmVhck9pbDA5bGtwckdZdU51VE8mcD0wJm49T3NIeWJ6dkE2YS1XMExTXzdvZkdIdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0FTN2l3
FOOTNOTES:
(1) St. Bernardine of Siena, Predica 39 in Le Prediche Volgari, Milan: Rizzoli, 1936, pp. 869-71,
F. Bernabei, Chiesa e omosessualita, pp. 11-12,
apud Atila S. Guimaraes, Vatican II, Homosexuality and Pedophilia, TIA, 2004, pp. 28-29
(2) Morales sur Job, Part III, Vol. I, book 14, no. 23, p. 353. (Translation by TFP)
(3) St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Romanos, Cap. 1, Lec. 8, (Translation by TFP)
