The archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth hosted In Truth and Love: The Catholic Stand on Same-Sex Attraction to educate youth on the Church’s teachings on same-sex marriage and sexual identity.
“The Church is not anti-gay. We are all cherished sons and daughters of God and we are not anti-anybody,” Fr. Frank Portelli, director of the OCY, told dozens of young adults. Everyone is created in the image and likeness of God and the Church is a place of welcome and acceptance, he said.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the origins of homosexuality are largely unknown, and so people are called to reach out and show support and compassion to those with same-sex attractions. Catholics should always strive to love one another and not judge the heavy crosses of others, said Portelli.
“God created all of us good, and we seek to love all people, no matter who they are and what they are doing. That doesn’t mean that we can’t have clear ideas about what we support politically,” he said.
The Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, or YouCat, teaches that the Church can’t approve homosexual practices because men and women are designed to need the other’s complementary traits to enter into a mutual relationship and give life to children.
Portelli said that there are three tiers of homosexuality: same-sex attraction (a crush), homosexual orientation (persistent and consistent same-sex attraction) and gay identity. He advises youth who are attracted to a person of the same-sex to wait until they are older before they self-identify as gay because the teenage brain is not fully developed.
“Homosexuality is not a psychological disorder, rather, it is not ordered toward the good of marriage,” said Fr. Robert Mignella, associate pastor at Merciful Redeemer parish.
In other words, the desire of attraction is geared towards the union of marriage, a covenant made between a man and woman who are open to procreation. According to Church teaching, Mignella says those who experience same-sex attraction are called to a life of chastity.
“Channel the God-given, instinctual urge that He made good, to develop giftedness and true talent that is not identified through sexual orientation,” he said.
While sensitive topics like homosexuality can be difficult to discuss, LifeTeen, a high school ministry that OCY partnered with for the event, provides a safe environment for youth to ask questions and learn more about their faith.
Christine Murad, a first-year computer science student at the University of Toronto, is happy that these types of discussions can clear up the misconceptions she’s had on some of the Church’s controversial issues.
“Sometimes Catholics like ourselves don’t even know the true views and the teachings of the actual Church doctrine,” Murad said.