Why is the general Catholic public still orthodox to accept the LGBT crowd?

It is very disheartening to see a person being defined only by his/her sexual orientation as if nothing else matters. They are first and foremost the children of God (whether they realise this or not) and should be treated as such. While writing this down I am aware that there are some in the Catholic church who on hearing that someone belongs to the LGB community, ostracize them from the community and also those who in the name of inclusivity are ready to rewrite the teachings of Christ. Are these the only options available for Catholics if they decide to reach out to the LGB community? I do not think so. 

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 8 Verses 1-11, we see Jesus being presented with an opportunity to judge a woman for her sins. Instead of judging her, Jesus extends a hand of compassion and says “Neither do I condemn you”. But he does  not stop there. He goes on to invite her to have a transformative change of heart by saying to her, “Go your way, and from now on do not sin.” In the same way, when talking to those with same sex attraction, one has to be able to do both – a call to compassion and a call to conversion. 

Following Christ’s teaching, the Church says this: “They (those with same sex attraction) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” [1] At the same time she is not reluctant to declare that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” [2] and those who have it should strive to approach Christian perfection through self-mastery that teaches them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace [3].

If we were to present only the message of compassion put forward by Christ or were to talk only about Christ’s call to metanoia, we would be truncating the message of Jesus Christ and instead of doing good, we would end up harming those listening to us.  

Coming to the question of acceptance, the answer would depend on the meaning attributed to the word. Is it about accepting and treating them with respect and compassion or is it about accepting homosexual act as something that does not contradict the teachings of Christ. If it is the former one, then I can say that the fault lies partly with those in charge of bringing the message of Christ to the society and to the general ignorance prevailing among catholics regarding the teachings of the Church. This is something that affects almost all aspects of being a Catholic and has to be rectified starting with us as individuals. Here is where websites similar to catholic.cafe can play a pivotal role by bringing authentic teachings of the Church to everyone in a simple manner without watering down its content. 

On the other hand if it is about accepting the homosexual act as something compatible with the teachings of Christ, we would be running into error as it is very clear from the Scripture and the traditional understanding of it that the act is intrinsically disordered. In the document titled Declaration On Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, the Vatican addresses the issue of homosexuality. This is a good read to further understand the position of the Catholic Church.

Some might be wondering why I have not addressed the ‘T’ in LGBT. The answer is simple. While the first three initials are about sexual orientation of a person (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual), the fourth is about gender identity (Transgender).  Those who identify as transgender say that they were assigned a sex that does not match their internal sense of gender they think they belong to. Earlier this used to be known as gender identity disorder, but now it is called gender dysphoria (dysphoria – a state of dissatisfaction). Similar to trangender there are people who are transabled (able-bodied people who identify as disabled) and transracial (individuals who assert a racial identity for themselves which differs from their birth race). Those who support them have the same thing to say: “Society needs to appreciate that however strange it sounds, it isn’t beyond the pale to allow people to align their body with how they feel they ought to.” The Catholic Church, while acknowledging that in today’s cultural context, sex and gender are no longer synonyms or interchangeable concepts, points towards the problems created by the complete separation of sex from gender [4] and how it would lead to moral and ethical relativism.

Conclusion

The position of the church is crystal clear. While the ideologies and the reasoning which forms the foundation of the LGBT community does not conform to the Word of God, those individuals who ascribe to themselves as belonging to the aforementioned community should never be subjected to unjust discrimination based on their specific characteristics (in this case sexual orientation or gender identity).  While approaching them we, as followers of Christ, need to be both compassionate towards them and at the same time be truthful to the teachings of our Lord and Saviour. We should also be light bearers to those brothers and sisters in Christ, who lack the understanding about Church’s teachings, and err by presenting only one side of it. A good way to approach both these groups would be to listen carefully to what they are saying and understanding their position. This  could lead to finding shared rational elements (a common ground) and then use valid reasoning as to why the Church thinks the way she does regarding these issues. Finally propose, and not impose, the Christian vision.

References:
[1] CCC 2358
[2] CCC 2357
[3] CCC 2359
[4]  “Male and Female He Created Them” – Congregation for Catholic Education, 2019