Love the sinner, not the sin

Sometime ago, Pope Francis has made an announcement allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. In this connection, a clarification was made by a well-known canon lawyer and priest, that “the Pope is not blessing the union per se, but the persons caught up in that relationship (hence the provision that the blessing should not in any way resemble the marriage rite) to give them the strength to do what is right: either to break it up if possible, or at least keep it chaste (not sexual but just companionship).”

The Catholic Church has always taught and fostered that “they must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.”

We quote the following related points in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to appreciate more the “respect, compassion and sensitivity” that the Church has always extended to them. 

“2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

“2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

“2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

“2360 Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are sanctified by the sacrament.

“2361 Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not simply something biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death. 

“2362 The acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and gratitude. Sexuality is a source of joy and pleasure.

“2363 The spouses' union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple's spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family. The conjugal love of man and woman thus stands under the twofold obligation of fidelity and fecundity.

“2364 The married couple forms ‘the intimate partnership of life and love established by the Creator and governed by his laws; it is rooted in the conjugal covenant, that is, in their irrevocable personal consent.’ Both give themselves definitively and totally to one another. They are no longer two; from now on they form one flesh. The covenant they freely contracted imposes on the spouses the obligation to preserve it as unique and indissoluble. ‘What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.’”

Jesus became man and was born on Christmas day. He came to save mankind, yet mysteriously gave us the freedom to obey His will and teachings. God’s teachings are clear and simply stated in the Ten Commandments. Yet, men try to complicate them with their attachments of “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life.” We are all sinners, but God continues to love and forgive us as we repent in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Sacramental Confession, done contritely and regularly, is our best preparation in order to receive Our Lord worthily in Holy Communion throughout our earthly life. 

Thank you and a blessed and meaningful Lent!

Ching D. Aunario 
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