I can recall when sodomy was not a “protected right” but a “perverse crime.” It was that way not too long ago. Indeed, any sexual activity, even with a woman, if outside of marriage, was often judged as criminal and there were set penalties. There is division in the Church on the subject and it may be that some have too closely aligned themselves with the American Psychiatric Association which redefined homosexuality from a mental illness to an acceptable sexual orientation.
One of my favorite television programs was DRAGNET. There is one episode where Joe Friday (Jack Webb) is railing against the sins of the city. Among them he lists “sodomy.” When the episode was repeated recently on television, the sound failed precisely when he moved his lips to say the word that is no longer politically correct. In another episode, The Big Kids, there is a dialogue which shows the change in secular morality:
Capt. Lou Richey: It’s not just a problem of law enforcement, it’s a community problem.
Sergeant Pearson: Trouble is there is no community captain. These people come piling in here from every where. They dont know each other and don’t want to. They come out here, make a down payment on a house and move in with a couple of kids. That doesn’t mean they made a home no more than givin’ a name to a place makes it a community.
Sergeant Joe Friday: Yeah and you get a littele weary of hearing every kid give you the same excuse when you tag them. You don’t understand, I just wanna to belong thats why I did it. Belong to what?
Capt. Lou Richey: What it boils down to is the new morality, doesn’t it, a whole new sense of values. The kids see it on television, in magazines. Even hear it from the pulpit. God is dead. Drug addiction is mind expanding. Promiscuity is glamorous. Even homosexuality is praiseworthy. How you gonna fight that?
Officer Bill Gannon: It ain’t easy.
Capt. Lou Richey: What you got to remember that, the vast majority of the juveniles you’re handling are the kids next store. They’re not hard core criminals. It’s just that for them it’s a great deal more important to be accepted by the other kids than to please their parents.
Today, the “love that dare not speak its name” (citing Lord Alfred Douglas) is proclaimed a civil right and thrown into our faces where ever we look, even in Cowboy movies… I know John Wayne is rolling in his grave!
The Church in Boston had to shut down its adoption services because the government made it illegal to discriminate against gay couples. The Archdiocese of Washington has done likewise. Catholic Charities in Los Angeles was almost shut down by a law mandating benefits and insurance (analogous to a spouse in marriage) to the bed-partners of homosexual men and lesbians. Renters are being compelled to permit gay men and women to live and commit mortal sin in their premises.
My faith in our society and the legal system is much shaken. I cannot say that I would generally trust activist judges or spineless legislators to make decisions that would please me or others with traditional values. I concur with the Church that homosexuality is “disorientation” and that to live it out is a grievous offense to God and a corruption of others.
Our compassion and love for them should not translate as utter toleration and/or approbation. We should encourage chastity and celibacy. While it is controversial, where possible, we should pursue proven treatments that have helped thousands to adjust to a heterosexual orientation (as in the work of Dr. Fitzgibbons). This issue is very emotionally charged. We are sorely tempted to look the other way and give homosexual advocates what they want. They insist that not to accept their form of sexuality is a denial of them as persons of worth. But such is not the case. The old cliché still holds, “Love the sinner but hate the sin.” Both natural law and the Scriptures condemn same-sex activity. Sexual expression is restricted to marriage and such is only between a man and a woman. No judge, legislator or shrink can truly change the truth about this. Going through the motions will not make vice into virtue or that which is false into something real. The pendulum is swinging. While gay sex was once illegal; it is now legally protected. Indeed, those who reject it are being subjected to charges of discrimination. I would err on the side of preserving our traditional values but not pursuing matters which would intrude into the privacy of people’s homes. I guess you could say that I would favor bringing back the proverbial closet.
Of course, even if we were willing to leave such people in peace, there will be no peace today for those who oppose the homosexual agenda.
Filed under: Anti-Catholicism, Commandments, Homosexuality, Marriage, Morality, Sexuality, Sin, Social Justice | 4 Comments »
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