Dear Parishioners of St. James:
Praised be Jesus Christ!
In the Book of Genesis, God punished the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of homosexuality (cf. Gen. 1-19). The Lord said that their sin was “so grave” and the outcry against their cities was “so great” (Gen. 18:20). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, contrary to the natural law, and closed to the gift of life. Under no circumstances can they be approved (Catechism, paragraph 2357).
Persons with a homosexual orientation are called to chastity. Homosexual acts are not virtuous. Acts that are contrary to nature and contrary to God’s law are vices, not virtues. Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman (Catechism, paragraph 2360). The sexual union of a husband and a wife achieve two inseparable ends: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of human life (Catechism, paragraph 2363). Homosexual acts do not proceed from love and complementarity.
Those who self-identify contrary to their God-given sexuality are increasing in number. We must treat them with great compassion and understanding, avoiding harshness and judgment. They are called to unite their suffering to Our Lord’s Cross as they seek holiness (Catechism, paragraph 2358). While compassionate toward their difficulties we cannot condone evil and disorder. The future of the family depends on the proper ordering of human sexuality as male and female, created in the image and likeness of God, and ordered to each other toward the transmission of human life in the family.
God bless you,
Fr. Geary
Saint James Catholic Church 