By Dr Jeanette Pinto –
God created sex for two combined purposes. One the happiness of a man and woman united in married love, and secondly the joy of new life being born from that union. Take away either one for instance with adultery, prostitution, masturbation, premarital sex, or homo genital activity or any sexual activity, it turns negative and limiting, because those two purposes are built into us. We are made physically male or female for loving and for generating new life. Sexual acts which are anything less than that will separate us from part of our selves and from what God wants for us; they leave out and suppress part of what sex is and part of who we are.
Homosexual or same sex erotic attractions may arise for a number of reasons which can be understood, both psychologically and emotionally. Sometimes they’re temporary, especially for adolescents. But for some people, homosexual feelings are deep rooted and difficult to overcome. The Church says it’s not a sin to have such attractions (especially if the erotic element is not wilfully cultivated), but it is an objective disorder, a problem!
The Church Calls No One “A Homosexual.”
In fact today, “The Church refuses to consider the person as a “heterosexual “or a “homosexual,” and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: the creature of God and by grace, His child and heir to eternal life.” CDF (Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith) no.16.
The Church won’t put a label on anyone. To say someone is “gay” or “lesbian” or a “homosexual” is to define a whole person by just one aspect. It can lock up a person’s identity and block further emotional growth. That’s just the sort of labelling which gives rise to prejudice and discrimination. The Church stands against any behaviour it calls immoral, but always teaches support and respect for the person. Labelling limits and disrespects people. To respect each person simply means “the intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.” CDF Letter, no.10
When you hear insulting remarks about people who struggle with homosexuality, the Church is saying: Don’t stand for it. Speak up. Be a pro-life person. And when a friend or family member confides in you about experiencing homosexual attractions, that’s the moment your friendship and Christian response really count. Stay and journey with him, understand his feelings and counsel him. Good friends also challenge one another, so you can and should say what you believe. You can continue to show both Christian love and faithfulness to the Truth, no matter what decision he finally makes.
Understanding Homosexuality
Homosexuality is the romantic sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same sex or gender. As an orientation, homosexuality refers to “an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectionate, or romantic attractions.” One may ask, “Are there different categories of sexual orientation?” As of today the orientations are bisexuality, heterosexuality, and homosexuality. Some people question whether homosexuality is a mind-set or a disease or a figment of imagination. Although studies are ongoing there is no consensus among scientists about why a person develops a particular sexual orientation.
Why do some people experience same sex attraction? Let’s consider Santosh who like many young adults is introspecting and is trying to discern his feelings as he is growing up. Accordingly he is saying to himself, “Is it something to do with my Genetics? I perhaps simply have the “gay gene” It’s there in my DNA. I was born with curly hair, black eyes and a brown skin. Maybe I was born gay. There is nothing I can do about it either.”
The problem is that the existence of a “gay gene” is really an urban myth. It is the result of some inconclusive scientific studies. But even if true, it would not make sex with someone of the same gender morally right and neutral. All of us have genetic dispositions that lead to behaviour. Comments like “He has his father’s temper,” or, “The Mittal family has a long history of alcohol problems,” are regularly heard. They rightly help us understand someone’s behaviour and increase our empathy but they don’t stop us from holding people responsible for their own anger and drunkenness. There could possibly be other reasons too.
According to some studies it is a decision that a person makes. Perhaps one day he woke up and consciously chose to be attracted to some of the boys he was growing up with rather than members of the opposite sex. He could have changed but he wrongly chose not to. This applies to girls too. The problem is that this was not the case. As puberty began he was as instinctively drawn to some of the boys as he was instinctively drawn to some of the girls. Mindlessly perhaps he felt he was simply wired differently. He carried out no rewiring himself, but merely believed he felt differently, and categorised himself as having a different sex orientation.
Who are people referred to as LGBTQ? They are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.
Dr Jeanette Pinto, an educator for the past 5 decades, headed the Department of History was Vice Principal of St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, and retired as Principal of Sophia College, Mumbai. She is a counsellor and conductor of Personal Enrichment Programmes for students and teachers.
She set up the Human Life Committee in the Archdiocese of Bombay. As a sex educator she has given talks on Human Sexuality in India and abroad. In 2014 she received the Rachana Outstanding Woman of the Year for her Pro-life work presented by the Diocese of Mangalore. She has attended many National and International Pro-life conferences and given talks at other fora on various women’s issues.
She is author of a couple of books, her most recent ones are titled: I’m Pro-Life Are you? & Sex Talk: Parent to Child. She has also written a number of articles on a variety of themes and subjects, which have been published in research journals, The Examiner and other Catholic publications.
Dr. Jeanette Pinto has best explained the stand of the present Church on a ‘burning issue’ even a moral theologian dare to touch. For any ‘natural orientation’, the person is not morally responsible. But, I found in India, such ‘born LGBT” are not many in number, although not any scientific study is carried out. However, I think, many of them are ” habitually oriented’ that becomes their ;’ second nature’, an ” adddiction’. Naturally born requires understanding , empathy, respect and even certain civial rights like right to vote, ration card, job etc. The problem arises in the Church when they ask the Church to ‘ bless their ‘ wedding legally’ between the Homo or lesbian. Traditionally and scientifically, ‘ sex determination physically and mentally’ seems taking place in the womb’. For whoseoverr fault, there seems to be ‘ a hang over of sexual orientation’ until the age of ‘puberty’ in so called ‘ boys and girls’. So, many of them begins to feel the ‘ dichotomy’ of their ‘ sexual and bodily orientation’ only at a later period. In one of my querries,an American scholar making research on this ‘ biological change’ said, unlike the traditional combination of X+ Y chromosoms to result boys and 2x effecting ‘girls’ are a changing phenomena among the LGBT and study is not conclusive. of course, for a seed to grow well, the quality of ‘ seed and atmosphere’ are very much important. It is posible when ‘family life fails’ itmay affect even the psycholoogical sex- orientation of the child. Already such ‘ exchanges ‘ are observed in the society. When the husbands work abroad or are drunkard, the mother takes up the role of the Father too. Thus,mother becomes a ‘ dominant firgure’ while the ‘ father is sub-dominant’ such ‘ Dominant – subdomiinat ‘ combination exists in genes. In schools , I found while the boys were bold and inititiave in the past, now the girls are more daring than boys. some parents treat boys like girls or girls like boys as they ‘ wish to have either’.Thus, various social factors too can effect ” mental orientation’ and hence need thorough study scientifically, psychologically, socially and clinically..