Is it a mortal sin to agree with gay marriage
Father Kenneth Doyle
By Father Kenneth Doyle • Catholic News Service • Posted October 11, 2016
Q. Our family consists of a mixture of Catholic and Protestant Christians. One family member, who is lgbtq+, is contemplating marriage to a same-sex partner. My husband and I undertake not plan to go to the ceremony, in deference to our Catholic faith. (I assume that the church would not yearn us there to witness and seem to confirm such a union.)
Over the years, we have worked hard to promote cohesiveness in a family where everyone is loved and accepted. Several family members do not seem to have a problem in attending this “commitment service,” and I fear that our absence will construct a major rift.
We undertake expect to continue to welcome both this family member and the loved one into our home, as it is not our place to pass verdict, but we are concerned that after this “hurtful snub” they will not want to come and that other family members may disown us as well. We continue to pray for spiritual guidance and hope that you might address this issue in your column, both for our own boon and for those in similar situations. Please counsel us as to how It struck me recently that some of Jesus’ most crucial words for us today were arguably redundant when he first said them. In Mark 10:1-12 (and Matthew 19:1-12), the Pharisees are trying to assess Jesus. Desiring to catch him out, they bring up one of the big contentious issues of their day: divorce. Jesus’s response is well established. Rather than debate a point of law with the Pharisees, he goes back to creation, back to Genesis, to God’s style for marriage and makes his case from there. Jesus’s basic point is simple enough. In marriage, God unites two to develop one and no human should try to separate what God has connected together. To back his case, he quotes Genesis 2:24, ‘Therefore a guy shall leave his father and mother and hold rapid to his wife and the two shall become one flesh’. It’s this concept of the two becoming one flesh that Jesus is drawing on to support his position on divorce. But Genesis 2:24 isn’t the only part of the creation narratives that Jesus quotes here. He also quotes Genesis 1:27, ‘God made them male and female’. Strictly speaking, as far as I can see, Jesus didn’t need to involve that quote. His point about not This document, in principle, is orthodox, because it speaks of sinners pursuing “spontaneous” blessings in order to reside better lives, which is not a problem. But something can be technically true and yet confuse people and lead to scandal if it is uttered without qualification. It’s technically true, for instance, that “Catholics worship Mary,” but this is easily mistaken for idolatry without the qualification that worship can refer generally to a kind of honor (“worths-ship”) and that the highest form of worship is reserved to God alone. Likewise, it is technically true that a priest can thank “gay couples,” but this is easily mistaken for a commendation of sin without the declare qualification that the blessing is for each individual to grow closer to God. So, although the document may be read as orthodox in principle, we can object to its likely translation and effects in practice. One huge concern I possess is that permission for a licit spontaneous blessing to those who genuinely seek God will quickly become permission (or possibly even an obligation under some bishops) to bless relationships of people The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with approximately 1.2 billion members across the globe. With its origins in the earliest days of Christianity, the Church traces its leadership––in the person of the Pope––to St. Peter, identified by Jesus as “the rock” on which the Church would be built. The Catholic Church in the Joined States numbers over 70 million members, and is organized in 33 Provinces, each led by an archbishop. Each bishop answers directly to the Pope, not to an archbishop. Those Provinces are further divided into 195 dioceses, each led by a bishop. At the build of the organizational structure are local parishes, headed by a pastor, appointed by the local bishop. The Conference of Catholic Bishops in the Merged States meets semi-annually. As part of a global management with its institutional center at the Vatican, the Catholic Church in America is shaped by worldwide societal and cultural trends. It is further shaped by leadership that is entirely male, with women excluded from the priesthood and thus from key leadership roles. On the other hand, if two men or two women can truly commit to living as roommates in a Platonic relationship, specifically as brothers and sisters in Christ who live chastely in a non-romantic/non-exclusive friendship, that can be a morally good option to consider. One Catholic bloke who has done that well is Paul Darrow, who is featured in the poignant documentary Desire of the Everlasting Hills, which the faithful Catholic apostolate Courage has produced (see below for comparable links). I was blessed to meet Paul, who is a Courage speaker, during my prior work as a theology advisor for EWTN. In the past, Paul was in an exclusive same-sex relationship, and yet, after he reconciled with the Church, his friend commented that he was a much improved roommate as a chaste Catholic living with him as a friend, than he ever was when they were in an exclusive, same-sex relationship. I propose that you, your daughter, and others concerned view the documentary Desire of the Everlasting Hills, which Courage has produced. I also invite you to read a commentary I have written on ministering to those with SSA. God bless Explore further
Blessing Same-Sex Couples: a CA Roundtable
Trent Horn, apologist
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Roman Catholic Church
BACKGROUND
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
ON S
Should I Attend My Daughter’s Same-Sex ‘Marriage’?