A Catholic Discusses His Same-Sex Attraction and Faith

A religious perspective...

"A major part of my struggle as a Catholic who experiences same-sex attraction has been the difficulty of wrestling with my desire for the goodness of love, relationship and pleasure that seems to be denied me by the teachings of the Church about homosexual relationships. After all, aren't these things good and aren't we all entitled to them? Why would the Church, or more importantly, God, wish to deprive some of us of these things? The answer, although it may not seem obvious at first glance, is that they don't wish to deprive us of any goodness at all and in fact wish for our perfect happiness. So how then can we understand these apparently disparate things? I found the solution to this problem in a consideration of good and evil themselves, as the Church and the Bible describe them, and what it is that the good God wishes to give to us in our creation as sexual beings. It's not a simple answer, but it is a consistent, meaningful and beautiful one. "

A secular perspective...

"When I first considered the question of whether civil partnerships or civil marriage should be permitted for same-sex couples, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the subject. On one hand, I had my belief which has been informed by the Catholic faith. On the other hand, I questioned whether my own religious convictions should determine the civil law that applies to people of all different beliefs. As a person who experiences same-sex attraction, I personally have changed my opinion on the question of homosexuality over time and so I realize that there are people of good will who disagree on the subject.

In order to consider the subject fairly, I decided that I must set aside particular judgments about the morality of homosexual behavior – not only Catholicism's which maintains that homosexual behavior is immoral, but also those of others that maintain that homosexual behavior is normal and acceptable. The question must be considered objectively based on the reason, knowledge and experience of civil society."