Thanks for clarifying NoNe.
I think I understand what you are saying.
The Catholic church helt that same position for a very long time. "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. " Basically, the idea was: if you are gay, you are a sinner. However, you could confess your sins in the confessional and vow to try to change.
Now, the Church is beginning to contemplate actively accepting gays. This is a whole new twist. It goes against the grain of a lot of the old teachings. It is not a complete change yet, by any means. Many Catholics disagree with it.
thanks
The Church has no problems with Gays, however it does not, and by Dogma, Doctrine, and Tradition, cannot re-evaluate or modify its position re homosexual behavior. Prohibition of sexual congress other than that between a man and a woman, within wedlock, for the purpose of procreation, is, has been, and will remain The Church's stance.
Here's an interesting development, of which more is sure to be heard:
Quote:Homosexuals shouldn't be ordained as priests, Catholic Church says
Vatican document reaffirms policy on gays
Updated: 7:38 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2005
ROME - A Vatican document will be released in the coming weeks that reaffirms the Catholic Church's belief that homosexuals shouldn't be ordained priests, a Vatican official said Thursday ...
... Catholic World News, a conservative news agency, reported earlier this week that the document had actually been in the works since 1994.
The agency said the new document would indicate that men with homosexual tendencies shouldn't be ordained even if they are celibate "because their condition suggests a serious personality disorder which detracts from their ability to serve as ministers." ...
Quote:Pope approves barring gay seminarians
Vatican, Sep. 19 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval to a new Vatican policy document indicating that men with homosexual tendencies should not be ordained as Catholic priests ...
... The text, which was approved by Pope Benedict at the end of August, says that homosexual men should not be admitted to seminaries even if they are celibate, because their condition suggests a serious personality disorder which detracts from their ability to serve as ministers ...
... The Instruction does not represent a change in Church teaching or policy. Catholic leaders have consistently taught that homosexual men should not be ordained to the priesthood. Pope John XXIII approved a formal policy to that effect, which still remains in effect. However, during the 1970s and 1980s, that policy was widely ignored, particularly in North America. The resulting crisis in the priesthood -- in which one prominent American commentator observed that the priesthood was coming to be seen as a "gay" profession-- prompted Pope John Paul II to call for a new study on the question ...
... The pending release of the Instruction, in the face of certain criticism from liberal forces in America and Western Europe, demonstrates the determination of the Vatican to improve the quality of priestly ministry, and to protect the Church from some of the scandals that have recently shaken the Catholic community ...
Rather disambiguates things regarding any supposition The Church might entertain the notion of leaning toward flexibility in the matter, doesn't it?
Has anyone noticed that the catholic priest that raped boys were relocated, and protected, but the priest that was caugt in an adultorous heterosexual affair was immediately bounced fro the churh? ...Hmmmmm
