Should
a homosexual couple that love each other (not “common love” but
real love) and want to start a family through adoption be allowed to marry?
I am asking this question because I am considering becoming a Catholic priest,
and I think we both know that homosexuals are not permitted to marry in the
Catholic faith, yet I have always felt that homosexuals should have the right
to marry. I have had much tension over this issue so I am asking you because
your perspective is unbiased and loving.
 our question actually has four
components to it: marriage, sexuality, adoption, and love. So let’s
consider each issue separately.
Marriage
In the Catholic Church,
marriage—or Holy Matrimony—is a
sacrament, not a right;
that is, only legally eligible and properly prepared heterosexual Catholic
couples have access to it.
Civil rights, however, are another
matter, and if Catholics—or any persons—want to pursue their civil
rights outside the Church, then let them do what they
want.[1]
Nevertheless, keep in mind that
many things which are legal according to civil law are both illicit according
to Church law and also grave sins in the eyes of
God. Therefore, even though many individuals enjoy their civil rights in
this life, they will pay the price for them
in the spiritual realm—and that price can very well be the torment of
everlasting separation from
God.[2]
Sexuality
In regard to
sexuality, it is a sin to engage in any sexual activity
not between a man and a woman in the context of their marriage, and not open
to procreation, and not free of lust.
This applies to everyone, not just to Catholics. Those who want to
commit sin are
free [3]
to do so, but here again remember that they will pay the price for their
sins in the spiritual realm—and that price can very well be the torment
of everlasting separation from God.
Adoption
In the Catholic Church, adoption
serves the purpose of protecting abandoned children from the trauma of being
without parental guidance and religious instruction. Adoption, therefore,
serves the good of the children. Consequently, it would be a perversion of
adoption for adults to adopt a child just to fill their own emotional
needs—especially if those needs are unfulfilled only because holy and
natural procreation has been rejected.
Moreover, how can those who reject
Church law and tradition teach their children
to love and to fear God and to keep His commandments? Well, they can’t.
They can’t give their children a proper education in anything but
sin.
All in all, if parents lead their
children astray through false teaching and scandalous example, they share
culpability for the children’s sins and will pay the price for those
sins in the spiritual realm—and that price can very well be the torment
of everlasting separation from God.
Love
In regard to
love, real love seeks the good of the
other [4]
while “common love” seeks only its own
satisfaction. Therefore, anyone committed to real love would be appalled
at the idea of leading someone into temptation
and sin; consequently, illicit marriage and sexual
sins have no place in real love.
The Priest’s
Obligation
A Catholic priest is obligated
to live, preach, and teach real love. According to his
baptismal vows as a Christian, his personal
life must be ordered to real love and to the avoidance of sin. In his
liturgical role, he must preach real love as the
essence of Christianity. And in his pastoral
role he must teach real love to others and never condone sin. All in
all, if a priest leads others astray, he shares culpability for their sins
and will pay the price for those sins in the spiritual realm—and that
price can very well be the torment of everlasting separation from
God.
Blessing
May your vocation be blessed,
and may you be protected from temptation and ultimately arrive safely in
the presence of God—regardless of what happens in the
social world around you.
Notes
1. “We don’t care what you want—or
what’s legal or moral. We want what we want, and we will get
it, one way or another.” That’s the rallying cry of the disgruntled,
stemming from the motto of Satanism: Do what thou wilt.
2. Because our souls do not perish at the death
of our bodies, each soul must seek out it’s own fitting place in the
spiritual realm. Souls who separate themselves from God in this life by
persisting in sin and refusing to repent of it will have no choice but to
hide themselves from God in the afterlife—and that “place”
of eternal separation from God, to which the soul’s own sins condemn
it, is called hell. Souls who do repent of
their sins in this life and seek reparation through Christ’s mercy will,
after first being cleansed in Purgatory, be received
into God’s presence—and that “place” is called
heaven.
3. God has given free
will to all of us, so everyone is free to choose good or evil.
4. Saint Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica.
I-II, 26, 4.
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
|
|
  
|
If this website has helped
you, then