#26
Posted: 7/14/12 at 6:24pm
I wonder what an LGBT-inclusive parish entails. Seriously. Aren't the gay parishioners always in a state of mortal sin, unless they're celibate?
Phyllis, it's similar to birth control and other issues that American Catholics ignore. They simply don't recognize Papal authority on the subject.
I discussed this at length with a priest once. His was not a parish with a large gay population, but he told me his policy was to leave the matter to the individual conscience. If asked, he would recite the Church's official policy on homosexuality, but he didn't pry, he didn't force people to confess it as a sin and he didn't deny anyone communion over it. (Obviously, he also wasn't able to marry gay people to one another in his church.)
I'm not defending what has proven to be a corrupt institution. But in practice, Catholicism isn't nearly as monolithic as the Pope likes to pretend.
Phyllis, it's similar to birth control and other issues that American Catholics ignore. They simply don't recognize Papal authority on the subject.
I discussed this at length with a priest once. His was not a parish with a large gay population, but he told me his policy was to leave the matter to the individual conscience. If asked, he would recite the Church's official policy on homosexuality, but he didn't pry, he didn't force people to confess it as a sin and he didn't deny anyone communion over it. (Obviously, he also wasn't able to marry gay people to one another in his church.)
I'm not defending what has proven to be a corrupt institution. But in practice, Catholicism isn't nearly as monolithic as the Pope likes to pretend.
