Iona Frances G.

Nery December 6, 2019

HM – 103 Theology 102

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S STAND ON LGBTQ+

With the growing number of LGBTQ+ members or activists and supporters, their
movement has been very loud and not easily ignored by the society. And this resulted with
mixed reactions and opinions from the citizens all around the globe. LGBTQ+ is an acronym
of the gender spectrum wherein for L stands for lesbian, G for gay, B for bisexual, T for
transsexual or transgender, and Q for questioning or queer. Most of which are discriminated,
stereotyped, and abused, mostly through verbal abuse. This movement is created by activists
and artists to raise consciousness and awareness about the common or rarely-talked-about
issues in sexual identity.
For the past years, this social issue has been gaining lots of support and criticisms
from people of different beliefs, culture, opinions and environments. Of course, the Catholic
Church has its fair share of its sentiment about the topic. “Basing itself on sacred Scripture,
which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared
that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They
close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual
complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved” (Catechism of the Catholic
Church 2357). The homosexual orientation itself is viewed as an “objective disorder” since
it can lead to “disordered” acts. According to American Magazine, 2018, to make “objective
disorder” clearer, the phrase does not refer to the person but the person’s gender
orientation. Moreover, it does not detract from the inherent dignity of any human being,
since God creates all human beings equal and good. The Catechism further states that
“Homosexual persons are called to chastity.” However, the doctrine also specifies that, “Such
persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination
in their regard should be avoided.” (Human Rights Campaign, 2018). The Catholic Church’s
stand on the LGBTQ+ community in general has to do with or has relation with what the
sacred scripture has taught and to what the natural law exhibits.

Resources:
https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-roman-catholic-church
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/08/30/what-does-church-open-lgbt-catholics-look
https://www.catholic.com/tract/homosexuality