Last week a parishioner approached me and asked to speak to me about my homily from the previous Sunday.
Before I tell you more about my conversation with this person, I want to thank her and all who are willing to speak to me about anything that I said or did that might have bothered and/or upset them. I would much rather have a chance to converse with them about what happened than the person keep it inside or talk only to others about it. I pray that something good will come from the conversation between him/her and me and when necessary, I will have a chance to say "I'm sorry" to that person.
Getting back to my conversation with a parishioner about my homily, she told me that she was bothered by the fact that I quoted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the subject of the Church's stand on homosexuality. She said she felt that in doing that, I wasn't being sensitive to people in the congregation at the Masses that weekend who have relatives who have same sex attraction tendencies, or maybe people at Mass who have that inclination. I responded firstly by reminding her that I also quoted another paragraph of the catechism that says that people with homosexual tendencies "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." (Cat. 2358) Pope Francis' comments have expressed these same sentiments on more than one occasion. I indicated, in my conversation with this parishioner, that in these times, when the winds of public sentiment and some of the media suggest an "acceptance" of a homosexual lifestyle, the Church in its teaching and preaching must always be clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, and remains consistent to what the Scriptures and the tradition of the Church say to us, while opening and not closing doors, to those who seek the Lord more clearly and deeply in their lives.
Before I tell you more about my conversation with this person, I want to thank her and all who are willing to speak to me about anything that I said or did that might have bothered and/or upset them. I would much rather have a chance to converse with them about what happened than the person keep it inside or talk only to others about it. I pray that something good will come from the conversation between him/her and me and when necessary, I will have a chance to say "I'm sorry" to that person.
Getting back to my conversation with a parishioner about my homily, she told me that she was bothered by the fact that I quoted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the subject of the Church's stand on homosexuality. She said she felt that in doing that, I wasn't being sensitive to people in the congregation at the Masses that weekend who have relatives who have same sex attraction tendencies, or maybe people at Mass who have that inclination. I responded firstly by reminding her that I also quoted another paragraph of the catechism that says that people with homosexual tendencies "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." (Cat. 2358) Pope Francis' comments have expressed these same sentiments on more than one occasion. I indicated, in my conversation with this parishioner, that in these times, when the winds of public sentiment and some of the media suggest an "acceptance" of a homosexual lifestyle, the Church in its teaching and preaching must always be clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, and remains consistent to what the Scriptures and the tradition of the Church say to us, while opening and not closing doors, to those who seek the Lord more clearly and deeply in their lives.