U.S. bishops issue three documents.

Baltimore, MD -- The American bishops, gathered for their annual conference in Baltimore, November 13 to 16, 2006, issued three documents. The first one was authored by the Conference's Pro-Life Committee, Married Love and the gift of life, pp. 13. This document speaks of the "false note" that contraception introduces to a marriage. It answers the pastoral need for a simple educational piece on the basic features of marriage for a generation that did not grow up amidst the debate created by Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae vitae (1968). The document is addressed to young people preparing for marriage.

A second document, Happy are those who are called to his supper, deals with the necessary conditions for the Catholic faithful to receive Holy Communion at Mass. Its purpose is "to affirm clearly what the Church believes and practices concerning the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion." A footnote indicated that the question for bishops whether or not to allow flagrantly pro-abortion politicians to receive Communion, is not covered as such in this paper.

American Life League's Judie Brown notes: "While we commend the bishops for setting forth the basic teachings of the Catholic Church regarding the incredible Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, we continue to register our humble appeals with them that they deal with those who pursue manifest grave evils in the public square while claiming to be Catholic (Communique, Nov. 17, 2006)."

The third statement is entitled Ministry to persons with a homosexual inclination: Guidelines for pastoral care, pp. 26. It is meant as an outreach to persons experiencing same-sex attraction, while affirming the Church's position that same-sex relationships are immoral. It rejects same-sex 'marriage' as well as civil unions, and rejects the adoption of children by homosexual couples. The bishops hold that such children may be baptized, but only on condition that they are being raised in the Catholic faith (Zenit, Oct. 23, 2006).

Men and women with homosexual inclinations should be welcomed in the Church, the bishops state, but homosexual acts are "never morally acceptable." Those who have such inclinations should remain celibate and should not tell anybody other than close friends and family about them. The "inclinations" are not themselves sinful, though they are disordered.

Printable versions of the respective documents are available at http://www.usccb.org. Each of the three can also be ordered in brochure format at http://www.usccbpublishing.org/.

Criticisms: Dignity USA, a group of Catholic homosexuals, has rejected the third document. "They tell people they should just stay in the closet," said its president Sam Sinnett (Reuters, Nov. 14, 2006). More importantly, the document has drawn critique from Catholic medical professionals. A lengthy and severe critique by Dr. Gerard van Aardweg was published November 14, 2006 at the Illinois-based site, http://www.catholiccitizens.org/. Other observations follow below in a Comment from Catholic Insight's Dr. John Shea.

Comment: This document, in general, gives an excellent account of how Church participation, sacraments, worship, and pastoral support, help in the pastoral care of persons with homosexual inclinations. It will, no doubt, be of great help to many. There are, however, some significant errors, omissions and exaggerations in the document.

Diseases

Apart from a brief reference to "isolation and alienation, which are risk factors for an unhealthy lifestyle, including unchaste behaviors," the document fails to mention any of the many serious, even fatal, diseases associated with homosexual activity that can affect both homosexual persons and the public at large.

Homosexual persons and the public are owed, in both charity and justice, to be made aware of these great dangers. These diseases include syphilis, gonorrhea, viral hepatitis, amebiasis, giardiasis, shigellosis, and HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, the prospects for hope and recovery from an inclination towards homosexual behaviour are not mentioned. The report fails to mention the fact that scientific studies have shown that with therapy, counselling, and guidance, one-third to one-half of persons may partly or fully recover from their homosexual tendencies.

Causes

The report states that there is no scientific consensus on the cause of the homosexual inclination. This statement is incorrect. There is strong evidence that sexual abuse (1), rejection by a parent, and other factors such as anxiety disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse, can, and do, influence the development of an inclination towards homosexual behaviour. (2)

The bishops refer to "ignorance, misinformation, and negative attitudes in the wider community that are often the greatest barriers to an effective ministry to persons with a homosexual inclination." However, no evidence is supplied to validate this claim, which appears to be an exaggeration of the facts. It was also stated that homosexuals are victims of "scorn, hatred, and even violence, in some sectors of our society." The evidence appears to indicate that the sector most responsible for victimizing homosexuals is the homosexual community itself.

Violence

Richard Fitzgibbons, MD, a contributor to the Catholic Medical Association's statement on Homosexuality and Hope, cites a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health: "Thirty nine percent of males with same-sex attraction have been abused by other males with same-sex attraction." FBI statistics have found that heterosexual violence against homosexuals in minuscule in comparison to homosexual against homosexual violence. (3)

Dr. Gerald van den Aardweg, Ph.D., states that the bishops' proposed guidelines do not comply with the Instruction of the Congregation for Catholic Education document in 2005, that forbids ordination of men who have not unequivocally overcome their homosexual feelings, whether or not acted out, for at least three years and who have not experienced a clear change towards heterosexuality. The document, he says, "transforms a clear prohibition into a matter of arbitrary choice." (4)

References:

(1) Beitchman, J. et al., A review of the short-term effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15: 537-566, (1991).

(2) Statement by the Catholic Medical Association, Homosexuality and Hope, http://www.cathmed.org/publications/homosexualarticle.html

(3) Peter J. Smith, www.LifeSiteNews.com, Nov. 10, 2006.

(4) Gerald van den Aardweg, PhD, www.CatholicCitizens.org, Nov. 14, 2006.

(J.B. Shea, MD FRCP(C))