A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics

More potential for a divide in the Church March 1, 2010

Acts of the Apostasy has coverage on a Deal Hudson story in Inside Catholic concerning a new push by “progressives” in the Church to agitate for the Church “changing its doctrine on gay marriage.”  Or, according to these folks, getting the hate filled, homophobic bishops to finally get with the program, enter the 21st century, and apparently acquire supernatural powers to change infallibly inspired Church doctrine on homosexuality. 

I haven’t got much time to cover this here, and it’s discussed pretty well at the two links, but I will say this: all the “arguments” on the pro-gay marriage side are captured very well by a commenter at Inside Catholic.  They go something like a child asking their parent for candy for dinner:

C: Daddy, can I have candy for supper?
P: No.
C: Why not?
P: Because it’s not good for you to eat candy for supper. You need to eat something healthy.
C: But I want candy!
P: You can’t have candy for supper, and you won’t have any afterwards if you don’t eat your supper.
C: Why can’t I have candy for supper?
P: I already told you why. Weren’t you listening?
C: Why do you hate me?
P: I don’t hate you, I just told you that you can’t have candy for supper.
C: Yes you do, you hate me!

Thus, “gay rights” activists.  There is a very marked tendency to cry “hater” whenever anyone disagrees with the agenda of the homosexual lobby.  It’s an attempt to shut down debate, and put their adversaries on the defensive.  It’s unethical, but it’s the only argument they have.

The Bible makes clear in numerous Books, Books inspired by God, that homosexuality is a sin.  The Church has infallibly believed this for 2000 years.   It is not up to the “bishops” to change their minds and thus change this 2000 year belief.  I’m sure some bishops already have given in to the world on this issue, but none of that matters.  You may get a renegade bishop in some diocese to start “marrying” gays, but that won’t make it a sacramental marriage.  That’s an impossibility.  You can get a bishop to say that active homosexuality (engaging in the act) is as pure as the driven snow and just wonderfully holy, but that won’t mean a thing.  I’m going to say this one more time, since some people can’t seem to wrap their heads around it:

THESE BELIEFS OF THE CHURCH COME FROM GOD.  THE CHURCH HAS NO POWER TO CHANGE THEM! 

You can argue all you want that this is unfair, that homosexuals have a “right” to marriage and holy orders and anything else you want to say, but it all means precisely nothing.  God in His Wisdom instituted these doctrines in His Church.  God’s ways are so far above ours that we can only begin to understand his reasoning on the same level a young child can understand universal field theory.   It is not our belief to change – He is the Creator, we are the creatures, and God in his infinite wisdom has deemed homosexual acts to be a sin.

There are elements involved here, New Ways Ministry and Catholics for Marriage Equality, that believe that the doctrine of the Church should be determined by a majority vote.  How infantile.  That there are priests involved in both organizations should be shocking, but it isn’t, and that’s a crying shame.  I continue to be amazed at how poorly formed many priests are, and the degree to which so many have apparently succumbed to the demands of the world.   I know just a little of the faith, and I know that there is a consistent, reasoned justification for God’s prohibition on homosexual acts going back to well before the time of Christ.  It is counter to nature, counter to reason, and counter to the good of the persons involved. 

Larry D. at AoA opines that this could be the issue that causes another split in God’s people.  We’ve seen how the homosexual issue has all but killed the Anglican Church, at least in Europe and N. America.  This same process is underway in other protestant sects.  Likewise, there are folks in the Church who, for many reasons, just cannot accept what the Church believes.  They just can’t do it.  And they are going to continually demand, out of pride, that the Church change to accomodate them and their beliefs.  The Church cannot do so.  S0, once it sinks in that the Church will never, ever change its doctrine on this issue, will we see a significant sector of the nominally Church body leave in a fit of petulant anger?  I don’t know….I’m sure these folks have been tempted to do so in the past, but they are also so invested in the idea of changing the Church I’m not sure their pride would let them leave.  The only way I could see it happening is if a very large segment of the Church broke off, with bishops and even whole diocese splitting away, allowing them to claim they belong to the “true” Church.  I pray that never happens, and I pray for the conversion of all those who refuse to accept Church doctrine.

How’s that for a short post?