Fred Harteis News Articles - The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have drafted new guidelines for ministry to gay people that affirm church teaching against same-sex relationships, marriages and adoptions by gay couples, yet encourage parishes to reach out to gay Catholics who feel alienated by their church.
The bishops’ document, the result of a four-year effort, gives specific instructions on some of the conundrums now faced in many parishes.
The guidelines recommend baptizing the adopted children of same-sex couples, as long as the children will be raised as Catholics. It says that gay people may benefit from revealing their “tendencies” to friends, family and their priest, but should not make “general public announcements” about it in the parish.
The guidelines also say that gay men and lesbians have “no moral obligation to attempt” therapy, an apparent reference to therapy programs that claim to change gay people’s sexual orientation. It says that while “some have found therapy helpful,” there is “no scientific consensus” either on therapy or the causes of homosexuality.
The bishops will vote on the document — “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care” — when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meets Nov. 13-16 in
Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of
Gay Catholic leaders who had read the draft, however, predicted that it would only further alienate gays and their families from the church.
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Source: NYTimes.com
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