Is there a place for gays in the Catholic Church

[voice]

World Youth Day brought about some debate regarding this topic and being the investigative journalist that I am I sought to find an answer to this question.

Please have a listen to my podcast where I chat to a someone from a gay Catholic group and attend a forum that seeks to provide some of the answers.

I'd like to discuss your thoughts on this topic further afterwards.

[princealbertofb]

World Youth Day brought about some debate regarding this topic and being the investigative journalist that I am I sought to find an answer to this question.

Please have a listen to my podcast where I chat to a someone from a gay Catholic group and attend a forum that seeks to provide some of the answers.

I'd like to discuss your thoughts on this topic further afterwards.

The Catholic church is (and has always been) full of single men... Now why wouldn't they accept gays? The problem is they don't seem to think that it is acceptable for two men to love each other. So it's ok to be gay but not to be a practising gay man (or woman)?

[Hugo Boss]

They accept gay people but not the gay 'act', but they ought to have a look at their priests every once and a while ...

[Shadow]

To be honest I think you'd have to have a scrutinous look at exactly what you mean by "a place for" ... six feet under is a place :redface:.

To my mind the Catholic Church has never been overly accepting of homosexuality, and I have seen far more young men crushed by the dogma of Catholicism than I have liberated by its embrace ...

... but that's just the view I take from the shadows ... .

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

[Hugo Boss]

To be honest I think you'd have to have a scrutinous look at exactly what you mean by "a place for" ... six feet under is a place :redface:.

To my mind the Catholic Church has never been overly accepting of homosexuality, and I have seen far more young men crushed by the dogma of Catholicism than I have liberated by its embrace ...

... but that's just the view I take from the shadows ... .

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

Who exactly is welcomed by the Churched?
They aren't very pro-women

[Shadow]

I suppose if you fit into their key demographic, then they're very welcoming of you, but that's like most things these days ... like the thread that (I forget who - I think it was Andy actually) started on the News thread about Obama and McCain banging on about the acceptability of homosexuals rearing children.

I believe McCain may have held up some kinda ideal model (as in man + woman (married) raising children in a stable family environment), and everybody was ra ra ra that's the way to do it, until some bright spark submitted a report based on a survey which showed that ... was it 75% ? Of families DON'T conform to that model ?

So it's largely subjective.

The Catholic Faith, like so many other faiths, seems rather selective about who it does, and does not, welcome into its bosom.

I'd rather just sit that one out personally.

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

[XRIMO]

How come the Church gets precidence. I mean, shouldn't the question be the other way. Is there a place for Catholicism among homosexuals?
The reason I want to point this out is because homosexuality has been around a lot longer than the church, but since the church has more power due to very unethical practices in the past, it automatically governs who should be a part of it.
I really have a grudge against organized religion. I don't care if someone believes, faith is a good thing. Its when organizations try to oppress a certain group because there is something that irks them. We are free and have the capability to think for ourselves, the church has no right to tell homosexuals that we have no place in their organization.

Perhaps if there is a divine message that slaps the priests upside the head and tells them that gays are okay, maybe then there will be a place for gays in the Catholic Church.

[Shadow]

Y'know babe, that's one of the most impressive arguments I've seen on this subject in a LONG time ... and you're right !!

We have been a part of mankind for as long as history has been documented, so WELL before the rise of the organised religions that dominate the world today, and we've become progressively marginalised in their eyes, because they perceive US as some kind of creeping menace ...

... when really-speaking it's the other way around !!

Don't get me wrong, I don't HATE organised religion - I believe (as you do) that having a faith is a good thing - I've just seen about as much bad as good come from such things ... in my experience anyway ...

*Shadow stands on his chair and applauds XRIMO*.

.

xXxXx

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

[XRIMO]

Thanks Shadow,

The history of the rise of Christianity and Catholicism is very interesting. I just wish that the people who preach about the evils of homosexuals would realize that the church was created long after homosexuality had been established. Not only that, but they claim it is unnatural even though it is proven that animals in nature also partake in homosexual activities.

I just wish the church would take the time and effort to learn about the history and science, rather than hide behind a doctrine that doesn't make sense.

[marshlander]

World Youth Day brought about some debate regarding this topic and being the investigative journalist that I am I sought to find an answer to this question.

Please have a listen to my podcast where I chat to a someone from a gay Catholic group and attend a forum that seeks to provide some of the answers.

I'd like to discuss your thoughts on this topic further afterwards.

An interesting programme. Throughout I wondered why the believing participants put themselves through the mill like this. I was left wondering why they needed to identify as being Catholic when the only way they could make their relationships with "their god" (whatever that phrase actually means) was to ignore the leadership of the church.

I know very little about the Roman Catholic Church, but if the pope is infallible how could these young people and their parents defend their continuing loyalty to the faith? It seems to me that there is something else going on here. Is it still "Catholicism" if people choose which rules they follow?