PREAMBLE

Marriage is the moral, legal and social relationship between one man and one woman created for their mutual comfort, the accommodation of their sexuality, and the procreation of children. Catholic and Orthodox Christians also regard marriage as a sacramental union of one man and one woman ordained by God for their happiness and salvation and recognize marriage and family as the basic unit of society essential to its common welfare and continuity.

We state unequivocally that homosexual unions and behavior (which term shall include lesbian unions and behavior) are intrinsically evil and depraved. They are anti-scriptural and immoral. [1] They are unnatural. [2] They are anti-social. [3] And they do not constitute an alternative lifestyle. [4]

MANKIND, FAMILY AND SOCIETY

The text hereinafter draws heavily from a statement of Pope John Paul II issued on June 3, 2003 entitled CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION TO UNIONS BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS. This statement may be downloaded and printed from the Papal Web site found at: www.vatican.va and we invite our readers to examine the same.

1) NATURE OF MARRIAGE AND ITS INALIENABLE CHARACTERISTICS. The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all of the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just a relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit that certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human life.

In the first place, man, the image of God, was created "male and female" (Gen. 1,27) Men and women are equal as persons and complementary as male and female. Marriage is instituted by the Creator as a form of life in which a communion of persons is realized involving the use of the sexual faculty. God has willed to give the union of man and woman a special participation in His work of creation. Thus, He blessed the man and the woman with the words: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1,28) Moreover, the union of man and woman has been elevated by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. The Church teaches that Christian marriage is an efficacious sign of the covenant between Christ and the Church. There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to marriage and family. Matrimony is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law because they close the sexual act to the gift or life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. Sacred Scripture condemns homosexual acts as serious depravity. (See footnote 1 below) This same moral judgment is found in many of the writings of the Early Church Fathers and is unanimously accepted by Holy Tradition. Nevertheless, we must accept homosexuals with respect and compassion. We must forgive the sinner but can never condone the sin. [5]

ARGUMENTS AGAINST LEGAL RECOGNITION OF HOMOSEXUAL UNIONS

1) Laws in favor of homosexual unions are contrary to right reason because they confer to unions of persons of the same sex the legal guarantees analogous to those granted to marriage.

2) Homosexual unions are totally lacking in the biological and anthropological elements of marriage and family which would be the basis, on the level of reason, for granting them legal recognition. Such unions are unable to contribute to the procreation and survival of the human race.

3) Allowing children to be adopted by persons of the same sex places such children in an unnatural and depraved environment deprived of the experience of real motherhood and fatherhood.

4) Society owes its continued survival to the family founded on marriage. The inevitable consequence of legal recognition of homosexual unions would be the redefinition of marriage, which would become, in its legal status, an institution devoid of essential reference to factors of heterosexuality such as procreation and raising of children. Not even in a remote analogous sense do homosexual unions fulfill the purpose for which marriage and family deserve specific categorical recognition. On the contrary, there is reason to believe that such unions are inimical to the development of society, especially if their impact on society were to increase.

5) Because married couples ensure the succession of generations and are therefore eminently within the public interest, civil law grants them institutional recognition. Homosexual unions, on the other hand, do not need specific attention from the legal standpoint since they do not exercise this function for the common good.

CONCLUSION

The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to condoning homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions. The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society. Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behavior with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity. The Church cannot fail to defend these values for the good of men and women and for the good of society itself. [6]

DEDICATION

We dedicate this page as an enduring prayer for the conversion and redemption of homosexuals and lesbians and for the peace and comfort of their victims.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The icons used in this page are courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. Information in footnotes below about the sainted families was derived from THE LIVES OF TWO SAINTED CHRISTIAN FAMILIES by Georgia and Helen Hronas, ISBN: 1880971070.

TROPARION 4th tone

TROPARION 4th tone

APPENDIX

HOMOSEXUAL PENETRATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD

Above we discussed the orthodox Catholic position on the moral dysfunction of homosexual and lesbian behavior and the statement of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, entitled, CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE RECOGNITION TO UNIONS BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS published on June 3, 2003 upholding traditional Catholic doctrine about homosexuality and condemning the current efforts to render the intra-gender traffic of homosexuals and lesbians the legal and moral equivalent of the marriage of one man and one woman.

Of all the modern scourges afflicting the Church “in the aftermath or spirit of Vatican II”, none has caused more grief to clergy and laity than the sexual abuse of children by some priests and the concomitant efforts of some bishops to conceal or suppress information about the same. Although the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has sought with determination to respond to the problem through two studies conducted by laymen including several attorneys, there remains an uncomfortable apprehension afoot that these studies deal only with the phenomenon of clerical abuse of children but not with the causes

Acknowledging that the seminaries are the portals through which aspirants to the priesthood must pass, Pope Benedict XVI, in mid-September 2005, ordered a thorough inquiry into the role of the seminaries in the preparation of young men for the priesthood. Fifty-six interrogatories covering many aspects of priestly training have been submitted to the 229 Catholic seminaries in the US, one question of which deals with the subject of homosexuality. Already the clerical spin masters are seeking to downplay the significance of the inquiry by asserting that one interrogatory out of fifty-six hardly focuses the investigation on the issue of homosexuality. The spin masters are wrong. Homosexuality in the seminaries and the priesthood is the issue. The fact that the studies by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops reveal that over 80% of the victims of clerical abuse are males demonstrates to our satisfaction a clear and pervasive homosexual component which must be rooted out. Hundreds of lawsuits against bishops, dioceses and priests on grounds of sexual abuse are pending and three dioceses are in bankruptcy on account of costs of paying hush-money, settlements, legal fees and judgments, from which they are unlikely to emerge without substantial asset reduction. We entrust the salvation of our souls and the spiritual succor of our young people to the priests only to discover, when our backs are turned, that some of them have been molesting and buggering our children. Surely in the hierarchy of betrayals that one is foremost in infamy, and not one jot better are those bishops who conceal and shelter the malefactors from the wrath of the law and the laity.

In conclusion we want to comment about one more aspect of this inquiry: are homosexuals who are not active practitioners of their perversions, the so-called “celibate homosexuals” i. e. persons simply with “homosexual orientation” but without concomitant behavior, suitable to serve in the ministries of the Church? We think not! The issue already awaits a Vatican ruling in the future, on which we shall comment when it is published. Although we possess no expertise in divining the intentions of the Pope, we suspect that he is likely to come down squarely on the side of Jesus Christ who said:

In this, dear Readers, we note from the words of Our Lord that sin exists not merely in the execution, but also in the contemplation.

UPDATE

Above we discussed the Pope's order issued in mid-September 2005 to the bishops and to the rectors of seminaries of the Catholic Church in the United States, directing them to inquire into the standards by which persons are admitted to seminaries and the criteria for selecting and training candidates for the priesthood. This inquiry is ongoing.

On November 29, 2005 Pope Benedict XVI issued an INSTRUCTION [9] in English to the Catholic Church in America concerning the criteria of vocational discernment regarding persons with homosexual tendencies concerning their admission to seminaries and to Holy Orders. It contains norms regarding this issue made more urgent by the present situation, viz. sexual abuse of children by priests, that is, the admission or non-admission to the seminaries and to Holy Orders of candidates who have deep-rooted homosexual tendencies. Acknowledging that homosexual behavior is contrary to Scripture [10] and the Church's traditions and, at the same time, is intrinsically immoral and unnatural, the INSTRUCTION differentiates between homosexual acts and homosexual tendencies, stating that admission to the seminaries and to Holy Orders shall be denied to those who maintain homosexual contacts with other males, whose words and behavior manifest deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, and who support the so-called gay culture. The INSTRUCTION recognizes that homosexual tendencies may simply manifest a transitory problem, such as experimentation in adolescence, but demands that such tendencies must have been overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate. [11]

Unfortunately the INSTRUCTION leaves the call to Orders to the sole and uncontrolled discretion of the bishops [12] or the major superiors of religious orders in hopeful expectation that the same will carry out the purposes of the INSTRUCTION according to its intent. Moreover, the INSTRUCTION depends further on the good faith and candor of the candidates themselves to measure their own sexuality and determine whether it accords with the purposes of the INSTRUCTION. We see in these two conditions serious flaws, firstly because it depends on the bishop's discretion, which may or may not be reliable, and secondly because it fails to recognize that homosexuals are quite devious in concealing their depravities and may simply respond as they have done in the past by moving into the closet. In short, the lack of oversight through an independent agency, lay or clerical, for policing accountability may present opportunities for circumvention and serve to render the INSTRUCTION less effective. These inherent weaknesses could be met by an invigorated effort by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to oversee the implementation of the norms of the INSTRUCTION.

In spite of the inexact language of the INSTRUCTION and its apparent lack of oversight and accountability, we hope that it is merely the first step in dealing with a profound problem which is corrupting the American Church. Pope Benedict XVI and the orthodox bishops which he and his predecessor have appointed to the American episcopacy have a Herculean task in cleaning out the AUGEAN STABLES of the American Church [13] and they may expect to encounter stiff resistance from those who prefer to maintain the status quo. That Benedict XVI has seen fit to address these matters in the American Church so soon after his election to the papacy indicates to us the serious of the problem and the urgency of reform. A vigilant laity can do much to assist in carrying out the intent and purposes of the INSTRUCTION as it has done to uncover and remedy some of the evils of the recent past.

Notwithstanding the current efforts of the Pontiff and his orthodox bishops in the United States to restrain and reverse the homosexualization of the seminaries and the priesthood, there remains the quiet question often raised in the secular press and by sincere Catholic laity whether the Roman Church's practice of the past 1000 years to ordain only celibates to the priesthood might be the root cause of the crisis faced by the Roman Catholic Church today. As noted by Fr. Donald B. Cozzens in his book: THE CHANGING FACE OF THE PRIESTHOOD [14], ISBN: 0814625045, published in 2000:

Defenders of the present system see probes of this kind as subversive of the priesthood itself and as thinly disguised attempts to change the present practice and discipline of the Church, especially the discipline of obligatory celibacy in the Latin rite. An open, mature Church, one would think, would welcome reflection and discussion on its policies, practices, and disciplines. There are not matters of revelation and doctrine. Furthermore, to insist that there is simply no correlation between mandatory celibacy and the present crisis over clergy misconduct with minors looks like bureaucratic bullying as long as the Vatican remains opposed to even discussion concerning the system undergirding the priestly lifestyle. And it is clear that the Vatican does not want even some disciplinary practices, including celibacy, to be discussed and looks upon bishops and priests who call for discussion as dissidents. &133; Those who mention in conversation that they do not see mandatory celibacy as inherent in the priesthood are suspected of disloyalty. A sad effect of this hard line is the muting of voices that believe we have nothing to fear in discussing or examining the sexual/celibate/power system that presently defines the priesthood and episcopacy. Such discussions may lead to insights into the negative aspects of the clerical system that may be creating an atmosphere or set of circumstances that in turn foster the kinds of behavior at the core of the present crisis. p. 119

With these observations we conclude this update.

SECOND UPDATE

During his visit to the United States in April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met at the residence of the Papal Nuncio in Washington DC with five victims of sexual abuse by priests in the Boston Archdiocese. At this meeting on April 17 and at other events during his visit the Pontiff apologized repeatedly on behalf of the American Church for the sexual molestation and buggery of children and teenagers by priests during the past several decades as well as for the failure of the American bishops to deal with the matter according to the norms of decency, Christian morality and the mandate of law. Bringing to the attention of the American public once again the sexual depravity and criminal conduct of many American priests and the failure of their bishops to confront them, the Pontiff reminded us of the evil impact thereof on the American Catholic faithful and on the Church at large. Only in recent times has the US Conference of Catholic Bishops moved to restrain immoral and criminal behavior of priests and to drive them from the rectories. We find it indeed a strange anomaly for the Holy Father on his first visit to America to abase himself repeatedly in profound humility and atonement for the sins of the American Church, for which he bears no culpability, while our bishops maintain their silence. Those prelates who knowingly harbored in their dioceses the vipers of venality and who failed or refused to remove them from the ministry or to turn them over to the law enforcement authorities would be well advised to follow the Holy Father’s example of humility, to confess their sins and to apologize to the victims and their families, to the Catholic laity and to the American public.

FOOTNOTES

1) Gen. 19, 5-8; Exod. 22, 18; Lev. 18, 22-23; Lev. 20, 13, 15, 16; Deut. 27, 21; Jud. 19, 22; Rom. 1, 24,26,27; 1 Cor. 6, 10; 1 Tim. 1, 9-10

2) It is clear beyond cavil that the human genitalia evolved for the purpose of human reproduction and not for the uses employed by homosexuals.

3) Human beings as creation are God's work and therefore good. Human beings live in social units. Accordingly society is good and worthy of replication which can only be accomplished through human reproduction. Behavior which defeats human and social replication is inimical to society and evil.

4) Homosexual unions are not a life style because the same do not contribute to replication of human life. They are a death style because the logical consequence of such behavior is the demise of the human species.

5) John 8, 1-11

6) In recent decades a triad of evil - liberals, feminists & sodomites - has moved vigorously to revamp all of society according to a vision of a new order which would replace existing society with new social ideology and institutions. Among the many items on its agenda, the triad strives mightily to make sodomy the legal and moral equivalent of marriage and family in all respects. They seek to compel the state to recognize depraved unions as "same-sex marriages", to approve the adoption of children (begotten by others, of course) so that they may corrupt them into their "life-style" and thereby perpetuate and increase their numbers, and to grant homosexual unions the same benefits in insurance, etc, as enjoyed by married people. Moreover, they agitate to compel public authorities and private institutions to recognize and celebrate their depravity by setting aside special days such as "gay pride month" & "gay history month" for their exaltation and glorification. Even worse, they have invaded the churches and other religious institutions to compel them to abandon traditional morality and adopt in its place the homosexual agenda including the "blessing of same-sex unions" as the equivalent of marriage, and to install homosexuals as clergy in all levels. Scripture, Holy Tradition and common decency notwithstanding, the homosexual agenda knows no limits. Homosexuals will strive to press their cause to the ruination of society and our country.

7) St. Sophia and her three daughters, Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity. St. Sophia was a Christian widow who lived in Rome following the death of her husband. During the rule of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) she was denounced as a Christian, brought before a tribunal and commanded to renounce Christ. Upon her refusal she and her daughters were put to death and thus won the crown of martyrdom. She and her children are remembered in the Byzantine Synaxarion of September 17.

8) St. Eustace, his wife, Theopista, and their sons, Agapius and Theopistus. Eustace was a high-ranking officer in the Roman army. While hunting one day he encountered a vision of Christ, converted to the Holy Faith and was baptized by the Bishop of Rome. Much later when the Emperor Hadrian learned that Eustace and his family were Christians, they were brought before a tribunal, commanded to renounce Christ and upon their refusal were put to death and thus won the crown of martyrdom. They are remembered in the Byzantine Synaxarion on September 20.

9) A copy of the INSTRUCTION may be downloaded and copied from CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS at: http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=40891

10) See footnote 1

11) THE GAY CELIBATE. The news media make much of the so-called GAY CELIBATE as a possible exception to the rule. We admit that we are perplexed by the term. Is a GAY CELIBATE one who merely lusts after other men and our male children without expressing his perverse mind in words and in deeds? If so, then we have no cause for comfort, for Scripture viz. Matt. 5, 27-29 makes it clear that sin exists in the contemplation as well as the execution.

12) In the past, the bishops (or some of them) have been the problem, not the solution. Content to regard the sexual abuse of children by priests as a pastoral problem and dealing with them through spiritual and psychological counseling and/or transferring them to other parishes or dioceses, they have ignored the fact that such sexual offenses are first and foremost crimes against society which must be reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities under penalty of law, viz. prosecution for MISPRISION OF FELONY. Moreover, a prelate who conceals such offenses by suppressing information about them and/or moving the malefactor from parish to parish to avoid detection may also commit the further crime of OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. Bishops have neither the competence nor the authority to make legal judgments about possible crimes and would be well advised to refer the same immediately to the law enforcement authorities, as is now required per instruction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

13) In the fifth of the TWELVE LABORS OF HERCULES, Lord Augeas directed our hero to clean out the former's stables housing a thousand animals, which had seen neither broom nor shovel in many decades. The people in the region complained of the stench. Hercules quickly sized up the measure of his labor and diverted a river into the stables, the pure waters of which washed clean the stables and the surrounding landscape. We think that this imagery aptly describes some aspects of the Pope's task.

14) Fr. Donald B. Cozzens, Ph.D. was the president/rector and professor of moral theology at St. Mary Seminary & Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland, OH. His assessment of the American priesthood goes far to explain the moral collapse of the American Church through the creeping homosexualization of the priesthood. On page 107 of his book, Fr. Cozzens states: "At the beginning of the twenty-first century is the growing perception - one seldom contested by those who know the priesthood well - that the priesthood is or is becoming a gay profession." We commend his book to our readers' diligent examination.

15) St. Paphnutios of Egypt, Hieromartyr, represented the Church of Alexandria at the Council of Nicaea in 325. In opposition to the efforts of some bishops of the Roman Church, he stood firm against mandatory celibacy of the clergy and defended the Apostolic practice of ordaining married men. As a consequence of his efforts, the Council Fathers reaffirmed Apostolic practice and adopted the rules which prevail in the Eastern Church, Catholic and Orthodox, today confirming thereby that marriage is a sacrament not at variance with Holy Orders. See THE ORDINATION OF MARRIED MEN IN THE EASTERN CHURCH at http://www.byzantines.net/epiphany/ordination.htm We recommend to our readers: VESTED IN GRACE - PRIESTHOOD AND MARRIAGE IN THE CHRISTIAN EAST by Fr. Joseph J. Allen, ISBN: 1885652437