Gays & the Vatican.Regarding your editorial "Instruction from Rome" (December 16, 2005): the Vatican Instruction on gay seminarians asserts that gay men have not reached "affective maturity" and so cannot "relate correctly to both men and women." This repeats some of the most insidious stereotypes about homosexuals. Fifty years of psychological research indicates that gays are no more immature or emotionally disturbed than heterosexuals. About thirty years ago, the American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential world-wide. Its some 148,000 members are mainly American but some are international. and the American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is a professional organization representing psychology in the US. Description and history The association has around 150,000 members and an annual budget of around $70m. declared that homosexuality is not a mental disorder mental disorder Any illness with a psychological origin, manifested either in symptoms of emotional distress or in abnormal behaviour. Most mental disorders can be broadly classified as either psychoses or neuroses (see neurosis; psychosis). Psychoses (e.g. . In repeated comparisons of gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples, psychologists have found similar levels of affection and satisfaction. A summary of relevant research found that "most lesbians and gay men want intimate relationships An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. It is a relationship in which the participants know or trust one another very well or are confidants of one another, or a relationship in which there is physical or emotional intimacy. and are successful in creating them." Unfortunately, it seems that the Vatican is Noun 1. Vatican I - the Vatican Council in 1869-1870 that proclaimed the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra First Vatican Council Vatican Council - each of two councils of the Roman Catholic Church unwilling to examine the reallife experience of gays and lesbians. STAN HECK Edgewood, Ky. |
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