The concept of discrimination is ever more extended, and so the prohibition of discrimination can be increasingly transformed into a limitation of the freedom of opinion and religious liberty. Very soon it will not be possible to state that homosexuality, as the Catholic Church teaches, is an objective disorder in the structuring of human existence.
Pope Benedict XVI
This probably will be the last time that I shall post on the tragedy of Michael Coren pertaining to his dissent against the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality. I shall not be party to his tawdry circus, in which, as Freyr pointed out last evening on Vox Cantoris' blog, Coren seems to wish to continue raising the issue of homosexuality as some sort of ongoing headline grabbing stunt.
I can attest to the fact, as a number of persons can, that Vox Cantoris refrained from commenting; hoping - indeed praying - that his then friend, Michael Coren, (who has since cut off and denounced his former friend) would correct himself. The timeline of events, and the reaction of Michael Coren is exactly as outlined by the Vox.
Readers may wish to re-read a number of posts we (Freyr and myself) have written on this entire tragedy. I can only add that Coren's latest outburst in the Catholic Register only further confirms what we have written (c.f The Convenient Catholicism of Michael Coren).
Readers should know that Coren had a serious confrontation on Sun TV with Pastor Joe Boot over homosexuality. Following the incident, Boot wrote an article with some very, very serious questions and implications that Coren has steered clear from.
Boot wrote:
It appears my friend Michael Coren neither agrees with Scripture nor the Catholic Church in his "pluralistic world," where my recent naming of moral wrongdoing in biblical terms (in this case homosexual acts) was judged self-righteous, insulting and an exercise in plain stupidity.
And further, Boot wrote:
According to Coren's opinion piece," most gay people do not choose their sexuality and we must appreciate the love and affection that exists between gay men and women." This is, according to Coren, the "most moral solution" in an often dark world. I beg to differ and suggest that God alone is able to tell us authoritatively what the most moral solutions are with regard to human life and sexuality. Notice that Michael does not see homosexuality as a disordering of reality, but somehow innate (accepting the idea of 'gay' as an identity) and therefore to be endorsed or appreciated by society, whilst stopping short of supporting the notion of 'gay marriage.'
And again:
Coren's commentary since the show has been heavy on rhetoric but light on substance. First, what of the charge that referring to male homosexual acts as 'sodomy' is unloving? I think Michael greatly misunderstands the Christian concept of love. In historic orthodox Christianity, love is not anti-law. The biblical definition of sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and sin is always portrayed in the Bible as wholly destructive of the human person; to promote and support sin is therefore to promote the ruin and destruction of your neighbor - the complete opposite of love. In fact St Paul tells us that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10). In the most famous passage on love in the Bible we read “love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13). Love is not simply feelings of warmth and affection toward others, it is obedience to God’s moral law with respect to others - so if I love my wife, I won't violate God's law and commit adultery. We cannot love God or our neighbor by ignoring his law and endorsing sin. To fail then to speak truthfully about sexual acts which God declares to be sinful and ruinous to people, by papering over them in the sanitized, progressivist language of tolerance, inclusion and love, is profoundly misguided.
The full article by Pastor Boot may be read here.
In this document "person with same sex attraction" refers to one who feels an erotic and emotional attraction, which is predominant and not merely episodic, towards persons of the same sex, whether with or without sexual relations.. The terms "gay" and "lesbian"are not used to define people in the Church's official teachings and pronouncements. Although these words are common terms in current speech, and many people use them to describe themselves, they do not describe persons with the fullness and richness that the Church recognizes and respects in every man or woman. Instead. "gay" and "lesbian" are often cultural definitions for people and movements that have accepted homosexual acts and behaviors as morally good.
ReplyDeleteEpiscopal Commission for Doctrine of the CCCB
Mr. Coren's stance is wrong and he seems to be suffering from a spiritual blindness on the issue. And it is also shameful that a so called Catholic paper would continue to have him as a writer.
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