What does the Catholic Church teach on homosexuality? (Part 1)

While the Catechism of the Catholic Church often succinctly describes Catholic teachings on subjects, it still can be difficult to understand at times. The purpose of this article and its subsequent parts is to break down and explain the paragraphs listed in the catechism regarding homosexuality in a more simplified way to give the reader a general working knowledge of the principles. The Church's views on homosexuality can be much better understood upon studying other concepts such as natural law, “theology of the body”, what it means to be made in God's image and likeness, and the nature of God as a Trinity.

Chastity and homosexuality

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward 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.

The Church defines what it means when discussing homosexuality. This part also acknowledges that many people cannot come to a solid consensus as to the causes of homosexuality. (Some people say homosexuality is environmentally influenced while others say it's biological. Some say that it could be a mix. The Church doesn't deny any of this nor does it make any official stance as to the causes. It simply acknowledges that its “genesis” has not been concretely explained.)

Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."

Here the Church focuses NOT on the people but the homosexual ACTS (ie. intercourse). The Church teaches that homosexual ACTS are disordered.

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Related Links:

• Part 2: What does the Church mean by disordered?
• Part 3: What are the Church's attitudes toward homosexual individuals?
• Catholic professor fired after being accused of hate speech against homosexuals