My e-mail to the Diocese: Most Reverend Carl K. MoeddelI suspect I'll never get an answer -- but I feel better for writing it.
Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati
100 East Eighth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Your Excellency:
According to the website of the National Council of Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries, the 2002 national conference of that organization will be held within your Diocese this year. The Mission Statement of the NCDLGM urges those in ministry to "reflect on Sacred Scripture, reflect on Church teaching and pastoral practice, study the social and physical sciences, listen to and ponder the lived experience of lesbian and gay persons and their families... and affirms that all who are baptized are called to full participation in the life, worship and mission of the church."
As a Prince of the Church, you no doubt already know that according to our Catechism [2357] homosexual acts are "acts of grave depravity", which "tradition has always declared" to be "'intrinsically disordered'" and "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", and "under no circumstances can they be approved." The Catechism of the Catholic Church further defines "masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual practices" to be "Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity" [2396].
From this we see clearly that the Church infallibly teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin -- the sin of sodomy. To deny that sodomy is a sin is itself a sin: either that of incredulity, "the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it"; heresy, "the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or... an obstinate doubt concerning the same"; or schism, "the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him." Since revealed Truth and the Holy Father both define sodomy as sin, those who participate in, fantasize about, promote, or condone sodomy or other such behaviors are, therefore, guilty of sin.
However, while Baptism indeed saves us from the stain of Original Sin, "the forgiveness of sins committed after Baptism is conferred by a particular sacrament called the sacrament of conversion, confession, penance, or reconciliation... To return to communion with God after having lost it through sin is a process born of the grace of God who is rich in mercy and solicitous for the salvation of men. One must ask for this precious gift for oneself and for others. The movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future" [1486-1490].
With this in mind, I submit to Your Excellency that the only legitimate ministry the Church may offer to those poor souls afflicted with the disordered desire for same-sex intimate relations is the call to repent. In other words, the Church can only permit "full participation in the life, worship and mission of the church" to those persons who feel "sorrow for and abhorrence of" their homosexual acts, and who possess "the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future."
In short: only those homosexuals who recognize that homosexuality is a sin and who are determined to live chastely and in godly celibacy should be allowed to participate in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and the other Sacraments of the Church.
In closing, I remind Your Excellency that "Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us" [2120]. Anyone who knowingly offers the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ to an unrepentant homosexual is therefore guilty of that sin.
I beg you to reconsider your participation (and implicit approval) of the National Council of Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries.
Your Son in Christ,
(B-chan)
Parishioner,
Diocese of Fort Worth, TexasNote: The opinions expressed in this message are entirely my own and are not necessarily endorsed by any other person or agency.
Yours in Christian Fraternity,