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"Ya, but...even if there were no health issues active homosexuality would still be sinful."

- The real question is "why is it a sin?". The answer can be deduced through logic and reason and proven with observation and science. Truth is logical. And since God is the ultimate form of truth, logic and reason, a sin can be thought of as thinking or acting in a manner which defies it.

- The real question is "why is it a sin?". The answer can be deduced through logic and reason and proven with observation and science. Truth is logical. And since God is the ultimate form of truth, logic and reason, a sin can be thought of as thinking or acting in a manner which defies it.

If you want to have this theological discussion with whichever homosexuals, or homosexual advocates you encounter, feel free. However, this Archbishop is simply calling on fellow Catholics, who presumably, since Catholicism is a belief system and by calling oneself Catholic one claims adherence to that belief system, already accept that homosexuality is a sin, and are therefore not in need of convincing. A complex analysis of homosexuality is not necessary.

Furthermore, I would question the belief in God of anyone who feels it necessary to justify all biblical morality with a set of logical consequences. In the case of the line of reasoning that you're suggesting, you are implying that it is necessary to demonstrate health consequences of homosexuality in order to condemn such behavior among Catholics. However, the exact opposite is true: morality is the rules one adheres to even when there are no tangible consequences. If one only adheres to a moral code when there are consequences to the violation, such as dying from AIDS, then one isn't really being moral, one is simply preserving one's own well being. For a Catholic, this is not nearly enough for spiritual salvation, which is the ultimate goal of every (true) Christian.

The Archbishop is rightly saying that Catholics should be beacons of moral clarity in that they must recognize certain actions and thoughts as sinful, regardless of earthly consequences, in order to help those who have succumbed to such sin find their way back to God. Such moral clarity, when based on the Bible, will be useless with an atheist sinner, but will be a great help to a Christian sinner who presumably believes in Biblical teachings and morality without requiring a doctoral presentation on the illogic of sin.

Sin is in line with natural law. Every sin has conquences of suffering that can be shown scientifically. Homosexual sex is a sin - it goes against natural law - and it's consequences are easy to depict. Just saying "it's a sin" works for true and strong believers and works for those who read; but it does not work for those who are weak in faith and who do not read.