A Dialogue: Catholics Rethinking Homosexuality

Mark Jordan is a theology professor at Emory University. He's Roman Catholic. He's gay. And Monday night, at Gonzaga University, he gave an eloquent and academic presentation on "Beyond Silence and Scandal: Catholics Rethinking Homosexuality."

The gay and lesbian issue in the Catholic Church is another one being sorted out right now, one that will probably be greatly discussed if and when there's a Vatican III. It's a complex issue for Catholics because, as Jordan pointed out, "Catholic institutions have offered sacred spaces for same-sex relationships" for hundreds of years. "The church," he said, "offered haven for those who fall outside of convention."

This is true. Ask almost every Catholic, of any age, and they'll tell you of priests or sisters they know well who are almost certainly gay or lesbian. They might be celibate, but that is who they are. And gay and lesbian nonreligious stay in the church, too, despite the church's official teaching on homosexuality, summarized in a 1986 Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.

The most-quoted part of the letter states: "Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not."

Jordan says despite the condemnation weaved into those words, "Lesbians and Catholics are not outsiders banging on the door. They are cradle Catholics who want to stay despite exclusion. Why do they stay?"

Jordan believes it could be God's way of helping the church rethink its attitude toward gay and lesbians, a way to show that God is not bound by human boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not.

The room where Jordan spoke holds about 250 people. Every chair was taken and students jammed the aisles. Conservative Catholics on campus had heard about Jordan's talk and filled some of those seats, but I was impressed how respectful everyone was, even if they strongly disagreed with Jordan.

After the presentation, a retired lawyer came up to me and said he was homophobic and proud of it. He recommended the book Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth by Jeffrey Satinover, M.D. which argues that homosexuals can change their sexual identity.

Even the retired lawyer was respectful, when I thanked him but told him I don't share his anti-gay and lesbian beliefs. The evening gave me hope that Catholics who do not disagree can listen to one another without anger. That kind of dialogue is the beginning of true reform.