Synod official discusses reference to homosexuality in synod document

"They" refuse to admit that anyone who is a "self-proclaimed" homosexual has in fact ratified his or her surrender to the sin. There are reasons for the curtain, the sliding panel and the seriousness of "the seal of the confessional..." which Catholic priests have defended heroically through the centuries. Mother Church has NEVER desired as a first response to the sinner that he or she be socially ostracized. And to imply that "essentially" She ever did is to give serious scandal.

Christ gave us all guidelines for how to follow HIM. It did not include giving into to weakness and temptation, but rather rising above temptations ... that we might offer our very selves, like HE did, as a pure sacrifice. If the Church is open to unrepentant sinners, with no intent to repent, correct, strive in HIS Way, then isn't the original reason for founding the Church undermined all together. We've spent way to much time saying "we are all sinners," forgetting we must aspire to holiness.

I am sure that the above news item contains a catastrophic misprint. It says: "“The fact to be homosexual does not mean that this dignity must be not recognized and promoted,” Archbishop Forte added". The error is this: it should not be 'this dignity', meaning 'homosexual dignity', which must be respected. It should be 'his dignity' (dropping the 't' from 'this'), the dignity of the homosexual person as a human being, which has value, not 'this' dignity', not homosexuality. Please correct!!

Oh, I get it now. Dumb the document down to the lowest common denominator. Reminds of the "common core standards." Official Church documents were previously written for Church officials, e.g., bishops, priests, religious; i.e., for those trained in theological terminology and thinking. Sometimes theologians would interpret the official documents in popular publications that non-theologians would understand, but the official documents were articulated in precise theological terms. What a mess.

If Bishop Forte meant, "we must respect the dignity of every person," why didn't he just write that? To write, "homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community," implies that the gifts and qualities of homosexuals are somehow different than those of other people. He should be asked to explain his provocative statement. And, if "natural law" is not "the kind of term most people would understand," perhaps bishops and priests need to start explaining it in homilies.

This intellectual fiasco continues and widens. Would it ever occur to anyone to find "positive elements" in embezzlement or serial murders? But, according to this Vatican official, "they do exist of course." And naturally, “[r]ejecting something is easy but recognizing and giving value to all that is positive, even when dealing with these kinds of experiences, I think is an exercise in intellectual honesty and spiritual charity.” Yesterday was a black day in the history of the Church.