CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- When presenters addressed last year\u2019s Synod of Bishops to discuss challenges facing the family, there was one group who voice was absent \u2013 those with same-sex attraction living chastely.<\/p>\n\tSo says Fr. Paul Check, executive director of Courage, a Catholic outreach ministry to persons experiencing homosexual desires.<\/p>\n
\tAt the organization\u2019s international conference, he emphasized the importance of hearing testimonies from those for whom same-sex attraction is \u201ca lived reality\u201d but who believe that the Church\u2019s teaching on chastity \u201cleads to peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOur best ambassadors are our members,\u201d Fr. Check said. The personal stories of these faithful Catholics must be heard, he continued, since a \u201cpersonal narrative\u201d reaches the modern audience more broadly than an argument on chastity from natural moral law, vital as it is.<\/p>\n
\tThe Courage conference, \u201cWelcoming and Accompanying Our Brothers and Sisters with Same-Sex Attraction,\u201d was held August 10-12 in Detroit, Michigan. Almost 400 people attended from six countries, including some 125 clergy and four bishops. The rest were primarily lay persons who hold ministry positions at parishes, and family members of persons with same-sex attraction.<\/p>\n
\tIt was the organization\u2019s first conference devoted to Church leaders in pastoral ministry on the issue. Speakers included persons who have experienced same-sex attraction but who have been guided to live chastity by friendships and the Church, as well as experts in areas of psychology, natural law, and chastity.<\/p>\n
\tThe Courage conference was developed from the questions posed ahead of the 2015 Synod on the Family. The lineamenta, or part of the preparatory document for the synod, features questions sent to bishops\u2019 conferences all over the world for consideration.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe pastoral care of persons with homosexual tendencies poses new challenges today, due to the manner in which their rights are proposed in society,\u201d the lineamenta states.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHow can the Christian community give pastoral attention to families with persons with homosexual tendencies? What are the responses that, in light of cultural sensitivities, are considered to be most appropriate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the natural moral law is \u201cindispensable\u201d to understanding the Church\u2019s teaching on sexuality, it is \u201cnot mutually accepted as a starting point for many conversations,\u201d Fr. Check said, because many people cannot agree on exactly what human nature is or what natural law is.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, he said, personal testimonies of those with same-sex attractions who strive to be chaste can help correct common \u201cmisconceptions\u201d about chastity in modern society, namely that it is \u201conerous\u201d and \u201cunnatural.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCourage has already attempted to tell these stories in the format of a film, \u201cDesire of the Everlasting Hills,\u201d which focuses on the personal stories of three people who lived an openly homosexual lifestyle but returned to the Church and are now trying to live chastely.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, the Church must be careful not to treat young people experiencing same-sex attractions as if they are defined by these attractions, Fr. Check warned.<\/p>\n
\tMany young people are \u201cover-sexualized,\u201d he said, because they are taught early in life that all of their feelings of attraction are natural and should be acted on, even though the years before maturity can be a time of confusion and change, and feelings experienced as a teenager are not the \u201cfinal word.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMore importantly, he added, to define a young person by their sexual feelings towards anyone, regardless of gender, is an injustice because their sexuality is only \u201cone part\u201d of their human nature.<\/p>\n
\tCatholics should be \u201cavoiding sexualizing young people so that they aren\u2019t entering into a sphere or realm of the human condition for which they are not yet prepared psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, morally,\u201d he told CNA in an interview at the conference.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnd that\u2019s not just young people who may feel the same-sex inclination. That\u2019s for all (young people).\u201d<\/p>\n
\tA challenge, Fr. Check acknowledged in his conference address, is for Catholics to reach out to those experiencing these inclinations in a spirit of \u201cencounter\u201d like that proposed by Pope Francis, and invite them to \u201ctrust us\u201d and \u201cwalk with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThis involves upholding the truth of sexuality expressed in the Church\u2019s teaching while proposing it in a charitable and inviting manner, he explained.<\/p>\n
\tJesus did not begin his ministry with Calvary, Fr. Check noted, but first offered something that \u201cdrew people to Him,\u201d while at the same time never abandoning truth or causing scandal.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFriendships and relationships are things that are an essential part of a fulfilled human life,\u201d he stated, and through chaste relationships with others working to live chastely, Catholics can offer what everyone seeks \u2013 happiness and deep relationships.<\/p>\n
\tThrough friendships, they can help others sort through their own attractions and desires and discern the good from the bad. Ultimately, friendships can help others discover the truth about themselves.<\/p>\n
\tAnd if man knows the truth about himself, his actions will reflect that. Fr. Check said, stressing that man is \u201ccreated in the image and likeness of God, redeemed by Christ\u2019s blood, and the beneficiary of grace.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Detroit, Mich., Aug 13, 2015 \/ 04:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- When presenters addressed last year’s Synod of Bishops to discuss challenges facing the family, there was one group who voice was absent – those with same-sex attraction living chast…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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