Abbey-Roads2

The Church IS inclusive.

The Cardinal’s interview in Quebec answered the question of whether or not the Catholic Church accepts people who are homosexual, or same-sex attracted.  The Cardinal said:

“The Church accepts people as they are,” he said.  “Jesus says the church is like a net, it pulls in everybody, everybody belongs to the church, there are sinners, there are saints, there are people with wrong ideas. But the Church continues to proclaim what Jesus taught.”

“There is no room in the Church for the acceptance of aberrational ideas,” he said. “There is room in the church to accept, to understand and to love people whoever they may be.  Not to tell them that what they are advocating is right, not to justify it.  That is quite different. That is totally, totally different.” - Source

“The Church will never justify homosexual conduct.”

What many so-called “faithful” dissenters lobby for is a blanket approval of homosexual behavior, as well as same-sex marriage… and let’s be honest - openly gay and women priests.  (At least that seems to be the agenda of the gay-Catholics lurking in the “underground” of Minneapolis.)

“There are some people that say the church is intolerant - no! We accept people but we cannot be unfaithful to Christ. We will not accept gay marriage.  The church has explained this over, and over and over again and she will have to continue to explain it.”

Addressing people with same sex attraction he said, “these are good people and our way of treating them is very important. The respect we show them and even the understanding of their personal situations. But just because someone is in a personal situation does not mean we can change our teaching to accommodate the person.”

However, he added, “This is something we have to teach in the most effective way possible, with clarity yes, with fidelity yes, with sensitivity.  “We present the beauty of human sexuality,” he said, “we explain God’s plan. We try to understand people who have the same sex attraction we try to help them; try not to speak platitudes to them but tell them what God’s plan is and how they are to face their life.” - Source

That said…

A local columnist for the Star-Tribune, a secular newspaper, wrote a great analysis of one parish’s “faithful dissenters” and their repeated condemnation of our Archbishop Nienstedt, whom they say is on a campaign  “of homophobic hatred…” and,  “dehumanizing spiritual violence directed at GLBT persons and their families.”   Yet these people insist they are not hateful towards the Church, rather they are simply hurt, frustrated, because of feeling alienated and rejected.  As the newspaper columnist, Katherine Kersten put it,

“Clearly, there is hatred here. But it is not coming from the Catholic Church. Rather, it’s a tool of those who are trying to compel the church to conform to their personal demands with caricatures and public mockery.

Opponents charge that the church does not welcome gays. They point to the fact that the archdiocese won’t sponsor a gay pride prayer service as evidence.

But the truth is different: The church welcomes everyone. Far from rejecting gays as sinners, Christianity teaches that all human beings are sinners. In fact, it maintains, it is precisely because we are sinners that we need the Christian message.”  - Source

“Mocking and sneering men.”

Sadly, many of these very same people (gay activists) mock and belittle those gay people who have come out of a life of error to return to the truth in reconciliation with the Catholic church.  They consistently attack those who have renounced homosexuality for the sake of the kingdom of God.  They attempt to shame them for accepting the teaching of the Gospel, electing to live chaste and celibate lives in fidelity to Christ.  As Kersten concluded in her post;

The controversy at St. Joan of Arc is part of a larger picture. When the gay rights movement emerged several decades ago, its leaders asked only for tolerance — a live-and-let-live attitude on the part of the larger society. Today, the movement increasingly demands both approval of and conformity to its creed. More and more, it labels all dissent — even that based on religious conviction — as “hateful.” 

Secular institutions have largely acquiesced. The church alone perseveres in the conviction that human sexuality has a larger purpose. That is why it is now a central battlefront in this crusade. - Source 

Such protests and accelerating demands made by gay activists seems to me analogous with the episode in the Book of Genesis involving the men of Sodom; protesting and making their demands heard outside of Lot’s house. [Genesis 19: 4-11]  

Links:

http://ww3.startribune.com/kerstenblog/

Stella Borealis