Homosexuality

NEW DELHI, Aug. 24, 2009, 11.30 Hrs (George Kureethra):

Homosexuality is a very hot topic these days. Not a day passes without some mention of it in the media. The media seems to have taken upon itself to champion the cause of homosexuals and defend their right to practice what is said to be natural to them. It is assumed that to be a homosexual is quite natural. Is that really so? I am a Roman Catholic priest. I have been a pastor for nearly fifty years; I have met thousands of Christians and people of other Faiths who have opened their hearts to me. I must confess that the number of homosexuals I have come across is minuscule indeed. In the case of adolescents it has been enough to warn them against the dangers they would face and the grave problems they would meet in being happily married. It has been my experience that juveniles are able to correct themselves. Some have needed psychological counseling. But the result has been a happy one in most cases. Hence I am quite bewildered by the hue and cry that is made today by the media. To me it appears that this movement is just a protest against societal and religious morals.

The position of the Roman Catholic Church is clearly put forward in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2357: “Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction towards persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of great depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” The Catechism also states that homosexuals should not be discriminated against, and that they should be given the respect due to all humans.

Homosexuals are certainly not to be considered criminals. The fact is that there is a lot of pain and darkness in their lives. I know of one adult lesbian couple. One of them is the dominant one, and the other passive. The passive one has been keen on ending the relationship, but the dominant one would not allow her. There has been violence and abuse. Once the passive one found a boy who was ready to marry her, but when the dominant one came to know of it she was so angry that she twisted her hand and broke it. The girl had to be in plaster for several weeks. The last time I met her she was still trying to escape. I know the other girl too, but I could never talk to her about the problem. If she came to know that the other girl had confided in me, she would become very violent. She is a strong woman.

Some years ago two girls studying in one of our colleges fell madly in love with each other. One of them underwent a sex change operation, at great costs, in order to marry the other. They got married, but the marriage did not last more than three years.

The argument put forward to justify homosexuality is that it is natural for some to be attracted towards the same sex. Well, is it not quite natural for a child to steal? Would the parents simply sit back and say: ‘oh it is only natural for our child to steal, don’t disturb him’? It is quite natural for children and also for adults to overeat. Today obesity is a pandemic. We Catholics call it gluttony and condemn it. It is quite natural for some children to be bullies. But is that to be tolerated, or encouraged? Would the media espouse the cause of bullies? Ragging is another form of bullying. Quite natural, is it not? To drink to excess and take drugs is a natural inclination for very many people. Would the media therefore extol alcoholism? Wife beating is quite common, and many men think that it is their natural right to beat their wives. Some boys feel that it is quite natural for them to rape girls. It is just a matter of testosterone.

And what about pedophiles? Not all men are pedophiles. But some have a natural attraction towards young boys. As soon as they set their eyes on some attractive boy they feel a natural urge to molest the child. What about promiscuity? It is natural for men to be promiscuous. So, would the media highlight the pleasures of adultery and defend the right of the promiscuous?

No sane person would say that these natural tendencies should be tolerated or encouraged. My position is the same about homosexuality. In most cases it is not natural but nurtured. There is a lot of difference between what is natural and what is nurtured. Obesity is nurtured. Alcoholism is nurtured. Domestic violence is nurtured.

There was a news report the other day that two girls who got ‘married’ expressed their desire to marry a man who would allow them both to be his co-wives. So, they know in their heart of hearts that true marriage is between a man and a woman.

In the West homosexuality has been used as a weapon to fight against religion. In the West the prevalent religion is agnosticism or atheism or secularism. In a recent law enacted in Britain, religion has been defined as the ‘performance of rituals and liturgy’. Religion is a purely private affair. In Britain if a nurse prays over her patient she can be dismissed. A public servant who wears a cross can be disciplined. There is an all out war there against religion, and the defense of the rights of homosexuals is a means used to beat religion. Adoption agencies that do not give children to gay couples for adoption have been closed down as it would be discrimination to do so

In my pastoral life I have come across a lot of anomalies. Once, in a hostel run by Sisters, there were large-scale complaints that cakes of soap went missing. Only one of the girls failed to complain; so the Sisters examined her box. They found fifty-eight cakes of soap, used and unused. The girl was a cleptomaniac. She felt compelled to steal cakes of soap. There are also cases of claustrophobia, fear of darkness, fear of snakes and so on. Some wash their hands hundreds of times a day to avoid bacteria. It is time we took a sane and balanced view of things. Psychology can be of immense help in this.

We, believers in God, speak a lot of the need for discipline and self-control. We should not be led by instincts. Licentiousness is not to be glorified. “You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal”, said Dag Hammarskjold, one of the most respected Secretaries General of the United Nations. “There will have to be rigid and iron discipline before we achieve anything great and enduring” said Mahatma Gandhi.

Fr George Kureethra