Catholics do not condemn homosexuals, only their sinful acts

Column by Philip Timmerman

It seemed to me that Andrew Waldner’s article in Wednesday’s Kernel (“A letter to the religious right: You have no right”) did less to defend gay marriage than it did to criticize the Christian faith. While Waldner’s remarks addressed Christians generally, the following article concerns specifically Catholic beliefs. Waldner’s comments displayed a lack of knowledge of Catholic doctrine and were, at some points, downright offensive.

Catholics have no more trouble understanding the Constitution than any other religious group, nor do we labor under the delusion that somehow the legalization of gay marriage will impose on our rights as American citizens. We are not interested in condemning others to the darkest circles of hell; we are interested only in the salvation of our souls and the souls of those around us.

Catholics believe the purpose of our lives is ­­not only to make it to heaven ourselves, but also to bring as many others with us as we can. We are called to love all people, body and soul. Just as we worry if our friends become physically ill, we are also concerned by their spiritual well being. We believe that true happiness comes only from God and that sin separates humans from God. Therefore, we condemn sin out of love for those around us and we hope that they will do the same for us. Catholics do not oppose gay marriage because we want to impose our way of life on those around us, but because we have a genuine concern for the life of their souls. While we do not condemn homosexuals, we believe that homosexual acts are inherently sinful and that sin keeps humans from true happiness.

To Dustin Lance Black, I say, of course God loves homosexuals. Catholics believe God loves all humans equally and we are called to do the same. We believe homosexuals are not any more or less sinful than anyone else. While we condemn homosexual acts, we do so no more than any other sinful act and we maintain a Christian love for the person committing the sin.

To Sean Penn’s demand for equal rights for everyone, I say we have them. No one is denied the right to marry a person of the opposite sex; no one is granted the extra right to ‘marry’ a person of the same sex.

To Andrew Waldner, I say it is absolutely ludicrous to ask an entire faith simply to put aside their belief in God in order to consider an issue objectively. The Catholic faith is not simply a suggested list of personal morals that we hold in common. It is a shared belief in one almighty God, to whom we are responsible before anyone else. Do not ask us to pretend that God does not exist when we enter the political sphere.

That is impossible. Our faith is inseparable from our beings; it permeates all that we are and all that we do.

Every decision we make is informed by our faith. It doesn’t matter whether we live under the rule of the American Constitution or that of any other law. Gay marriage is not merely an issue of legality and rights; it is more than that. It is a matter of belief.