Thoughts on Homosexual Marriage

Homosexuality continues to be debated in public domain, especially as it pertains to marriage, and this is not surprising considering that homosexual marriage was recently deemed legal in my home Archdiocese of New York.

I have found that this topic is often one that evokes feelings from both sides, pro-homosexual and pro-traditional marriage, and it is an issue that I have thought long and hard about, and the passage of the recent bill has not come as a surprise to me.

In my opinion, it was only a matter of time before such legislation would be passed, not because it is a civil right or because it is proper, but because God has slowly been removed from center of marriages and that marriage continues to be relegated to the state of a mere civil contract as opposed to a Sacrament.

Once God is removed from any equation, it is only natural that subjective truth instead of objective truth will come forward and peek its head and from that one will discover ever type of relativistic attitude being proposed and accepted, and same-sex marriage is among these accepted thoughts.

Essentially, in the last 200 years or so we have watched the steady decay of society. Once ideas began to be accepted in the so-called “Age of Enlightenment” which usurped God from His throne and placed man upon it, we have seen an acceptance of attitudes and mentalities which have degraded the dignity of the human person, and which is why we see the steady progression of civil marriage, divorce, contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Christianity Opposes Same-Sex Marriage

Without approaching the books of Leviticus, Deuteronomy or Romans to see language which condemns homosexual behavior, it can still be understood that same-sex marriage cannot be accepted. The Book of Genesis shows that God created man and woman and they are to be joined together, and it is this relationship which marriage is based upon and in Matthew and Mark  that Jesus explains that absoluteness of marriage and how divorced is not permitted. Marriage is based upon a man and a woman.

Even if I remove the idea of homosexual sex from the equation, fornication is prohibited by Christianity, which are sexual acts between unmarried people. Since marriage is between a man and a woman, two people of the same sex can never be married, and it would be impossible to institute a Sacrament contrary to what Jesus instilled. No matter how we flip the coin, homosexual relationships are sinful and act against the divine plan set forth by God.

Love

Love is an essential part of being human and we all desire to be loved and to be socially involved with other human beings. I do believe that people with same-sex attraction feel love for those whom they are involved in, and that it is painful to not have that love be accepted socially by many. I haven’t a doubt that they want to express that love, as so many of us do, but it comes down to whether or not that love is ordered or disordered.

There are different types of love and the love of the Creator, Agape, should be striven towards at all times and that love should be extended to all; however, when we look at Eros, it should be considered if that passionate, sexual love is being directed where it should be. Essentially, the sexual act is designed with a purpose, and that purpose, biologically, is to bring life into the world. This is the reason why male and female parts are compatible and why the procreative act can create life. This position also ties into why contraceptive sex is disordered and sinful.

In homosexual intercourse, the parts are not truly compatible and try and try as a couple may, without artificial assistance, life will not be created; this should be differentiated from heterosexual sex, which by design has the potential to create life. So, while the feelings of love and passion may be present in the relationship, the ordering of the relationship is askew.

 Happiness

Many people put forward the position that all are meant to be happy, and while I tend to agree that it is good to be happy, one must take precautions in what brings this happiness.

Good companionship does indeed bring a spark of happiness to live; after all, humans are social creatures, but the dimension of that relationship can be harmful. I can of course allude to sin and that when a person participates in sinful activities with another that it is harmful, and that the happiness achieved is short lived.

A person participating in pre-marital sex can indeed find some sort of happiness in that action, but in the long run the relationship will be found to fall short of what a man and woman are called to be in marriage and in life, and it will be incomplete. In that relationship, there always exist the possibility that the love or affection given can be taken away or that other forms of happiness may be pursued; for example, another person.

Many people have found some sort of happiness in consuming illegal drugs or abusing legal ones, but even this feeling of happiness or euphoria is short lived and ripe with many negative consequences, most notably addiction. Nevertheless, at times when they are participating in these actions, they would think themselves happy.

In homosexual marriage, we see an attempt to achieve happiness because our human nature drives us toward achieving a relationship which is similar to the love of God, and why not? Marriage is supposed to be a reflection of God’s love. Yet, it comes back to the point that the love of a man and a woman in marriage is constructed to be life giving by nature, whereas, relationships by same-sex couples cannot imitate this. Even the sexual act between same-sex couples, though attempting to imitate that loving expression between a man and woman, falls into the realm of mutual masturbation; it cannot be the full giving of self because the very act by design is not life giving. Therefore, what one is left with is an experience which will give temporary enjoyment, but will ultimately fall short of true happiness from the sexual act; it becomes a self-serving action.

Society

Everyone wants rights, especially rights to do as we please as please, rights to have our action accepted and deemed legitimate by society. Many would like the homosexual marriage to be on the same footing as heterosexual marriage, but this is impossible. They are not equal institutions.

By design, heterosexual marriage is a construct which brings life into the world and foster familial development; whereas, homosexual marriage, though serving to express the desire of a couple to be together, does not give rise to the continuation of the species and serves the purpose of extending property, medical, and monetary rights to the partner. Yet, this opens a slippery slope. I say this because once we see marriage as an act defined by what one perceives as love and nothing more, including disregarding the continuation of the species, we open the door marrying anyone for any reason for fact of extending monetary rights or healthcare options to them. What is to stop a mother from marrying a son, a brother from marrying his brother, or a father from marrying his daughter? Where is the line drawn? Essentially, this will continue to dismantle the family, the institution of marriage, and the under pinning of society.

The Church

It is time for the Church to speak shamelessly on the defense of marriage and on those issue which have helped to create an environment which nourishes this current environment, especially contraception.

It is only natural that once an environment was created that removed the concept of life giving from the procreative act that sexual acts which are intrinsically disordered would be accepted. Yet there have been countless clergy who have dissented from Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae and promote those life styles which have given rise to the current culture of death.

Holy Mother Church needs to take a hard stance and use the sanctions at her disposal to correct those who corrupt the flock or lead them astray (this includes dissident clergy), which includes the enforcement of Can. 915 and if need be excommunication. These acts are not done to harm the individual but to remind them that they have indeed separated themselves from the Church and from Christ and to bring them back to the fold. This environment of being nice is quite frankly uncharitable for in the long run a disservice is being done to our fellow man, especially practicing Catholics.

There needs to be an environment where acceptance of the homosexual condition is met with love, and they comforted, but in that environment the disordered sexual acts are not condoned. It would be the same for any sinner. We condemn the sin but not the sinner, as they are all still children of God. The refusal of communion in such circumstances is also done to protect the person from committing the sin of sacrilege, it is not for lack of love.

Ultimately, the Church must speak without apology and declare the teachings of Christ and seek the salvation of all men, not by touchy feely words, but by speaking the truth, teaching the truth and most importantly standing up for the truth, regardless of consequence. The Church is the beacon of light in the world; it is time for it to shine.