This may come as a disappointment - perhaps even a shock - to you Raelian1 (Oh - and welcome to A2K, BTW), but the Roman Catholic Church never has been nor will it ever be about what folks want it to be.
In [url=http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1292830#1292830]another discussion[/url], timber wrote: ... The Roman Catholic Church never has been anything other than "All-or-Nothing". While apostacy no longer is rewarded by burnin' at the stake, The Church still does not offer cafeteria-style religion. You take what's there, all of it, or you're not within it. There's nothin' new about that - the concept is as old as The Church itself.
For one to profess Catholicism while consciously failin' to follow ALL Church doctrine is both intellectually and ethically dishonest. Now, within the view of The Church, there is a difference between doctrine and dogma, which I've tried to explain a couple times. Once more, as simply put as I can manage, dogma - in the view of The Church - is the express, direct, divinely revealed, immutable, word of God. Dogma may be neither created nor disputed by man; dogma must be accepted without question. No article of dogma ever has changed. Doctrine, however, proceeds from dogma. It is firmly bindin' on The Faithful while in force. Doctrine represents the best understandin' of The Church, and as such may be subject to revision or rescion. An illustration of this may be found in the case of The Church vs Gallileo.
Dogma goes to matters of the foundation of faith and morality. For example, that there is One God in the 3 Personages of The Trinity is dogma, that celibacy be bindin' on those who undertake Holy Orders is doctrine. That the role of sex is procreation within Matrimony is dogma, that women be excluded from the priesthood is doctrine.
Doctrine may not be imposed, adjusted, or rescinded to suit the fashion of the time or the whim of a particular Pontiff. The examination and development of doctrine is a complex, often multi-generational matter, involvin' much debate within The Congregations of The Curia, thorough vettin' by The Church's Doctors of Theology, the convocation of Councils, and the assent of The College of Cardinals. Once a Pope is fully satisfied, through The Blessin' of The Holy Spirit, in mind and conscience the matter of a doctrinal establishment, revision, or rescision is without error - wholly consistent with the teachin's of The Church as regard dogma, that Pope not only may but must pronounce the doctrine as bindin' on The Faithful. Of course, that's not to say the process hasn't been shortcutted or sidestepped in the past, but that's the process as it should be - and most often has been.
Now, back to dogma. That The Holy Roman Catholic Church is the sole and perfect repository and font of divinely revealed truth, exclusively from which all true teachin' flows, and which must be obeyed in every particular by The Faithful is dogma. Bein' Catholic has a lot in common with bein' pregnant, or bein' dead; there just ain't no partial participation allowed, no "middle ground". You IS or you AIN'T - Period, finis, End of Discussion.
Now, please bear in mind the foregoin' is Church position - not timber's. Timber thinks a bit differently when it comes to matters theological.
Now, given that by Church Dogma, the role of sex strictly and unchangeably is procreation within Matrimony (which sacrament itself is by dogma an indissoluable bond between a man and a woman), there is absolutely no expectation of any change in The Church's stance as regards homosexual practice. Zero. None. Zip. Like, as in "Not Ever". The Church does acknowledge that homosexuality exists, of course, and that it is deeply ingrained within some people. The Church's position is not that homosexual preferance is to be condemned, but rather that homosexual parctice is intolerable. One may be homosexually inclined and remain a Catholic only and specifically if one refrains from homosexual practice, remaininin' chaste and celibate outside of Matrimony. Don't look for any change in Church position as would regard contraception or abortion, either; those are high up and etched-in-stone on the "Go Nowhere" list as well. A greater role for women in Catholic clergy is by some considered theoretically possible, but then so is faster-tban-light travel. Personally, I'd bet on warp drive commin' around before The Church goes with women in the priesthood.
And just to reitterate, whether or not I agree with The Church on these issues, I pretty well understands, and hold no unrealistic expectations regardin', The Church's positition on 'em.
- I'm actually gettin' sorta tired of it, but there are those who count on it 
