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The AIDS crisis has brought to the fore how various religious denominations are responding to patients with AIDS, particularly homosexuals. On occasion, Catholic leaders have mistakenly joined ranks with conservative Christians and evangelicals who believe AIDS is God's punishment for some people who engaged in sinful behavior. But such thinking should be ethically repugnant to anyone acquainted with the words of Jesus Christ. God is not punishing homosexuals with AIDS any more than He is punishing smokers by inflicting them with lung cancer.
As a Roman Catholic, I feel at times that the bishops and other hierarchy have hijacked our church and taken it in a direction that departs from the authentic teachings of Christ. The example of Christ differs markedly from these modern-day scribes and pharisees. My sentiments are reflected in comments by George Anderson in the best seller WE ARE NOT FORGOTTEN (pp.204-205): "Parents want to know, 'After my son suffered with AIDS, is he in Hell now because he was gay?' To me, if that came through (in a reading for a bereaved relative), it would not be from God. If you read the Bible carefully, it's obvious that Jesus found the company of society's so-called outcasts preferable to the self-righteous. It's my feeling that the 'outcasts' who are good people are going to go to Heaven faster than the self-righteous. We know that Jesus Christ embraced the lepers. If He were here on earth today, does anyone truly believe He would turn away people with AIDS? Do you think he would make a judgment on them at all? Christ knew the so-called outcasts were also God's children. He also knew that they would probably be more open to His teachings and beliefs."
The notion that people have a right to judge others and condemn them to Hell, because of their sexual orientation is such a perversion of the New Testament as to deserve the harshest rebuke by my church. But instead, the Roman Catholic Church seems to give aid and comfort to conservative Protestants and Evangelicals who look upon homosexuals with condescension, and worse, with a desire for persecution. The Gospel of St. Matthew could not more clear on what would be the fate of the self-righteous persecutors of Christ's time: the scribes and pharisees. Only a fool would believe the self-righteous preachers of our time speak the word of the Lord.
The Catholic Church correctly rejects and condemns promiscuity (whether heterosexual or homosexual), because it represents licentious behavior in which the flesh is glorified over the spirit. People who are spiritual, and thus necessarily concerned with the spiritual well-being of others, would not engage in promiscuous behavior. However, the Catholic Church has failed to welcome into its fold those gay and lesbian brethren who have adopted stable, loving relationships and only want to continue on their journey of faith with the rest of us. Conservative clerics like the former Cardinal John O'Connor have repeatedly made pronouncements that the Church has no use for homosexuals, and they were not welcome. But O'Connor on occasion displayed narrow-minded bigotry and failed to grasp some of the most fundamental teachings of Christ, e.g., the Beatitudes and His inclusion into His church of society's outcasts: the prostitute, the leper, the tax collector, etc.
Fortunately, there also exists within a church as large as the Roman Catholic Church some examples of religious leaders who carried out the true teaching of Christ with their actions as well as their words. "[Saint] Mother Theresa was one of the very first in the Catholic Church to step forward and say that people with AIDS are Christ's children too, and that we have to take care of them. She started one of the first AIDS hospices. She didn't make judgments. I read a controversial comment from one priest who has a ministry for AIDS patients. He said, 'The Church doesn't always speak for Christ.' That's sad to hear." (Ibid., p.205).
As a Catholic, I believe that when souls are born to eternal life, after the body has died here on earth, these souls come to perceive God as He truly is - total love, mercy, and compassion. Who would not be attracted to that kind of a being? Then the souls of homosexuals realize they have not been condemned to Hell, and that there are no self-righteous hypocrites in Heaven condemning them for the decisions they made on earth. I seriously doubt any homosexual with a good heart, who was kind and merciful here on earth, would be rejected or judged harshly by his Heavenly Father. These souls have just as much of a chance as anyone else to grow spiritually and to lose the reminders (such as sexual labels) that tied them to their earthly bodies.
In a sense, the souls of homosexuals realize they have been duped by various churches preaching a message of guilt and abandonment, and attempts to bully them into a way of life that modern-day scribes and pharisees would regard as appropriate. "That's when they realize that they are truly at peace and one with God, because they know that God would never reject them under any circumstance. Frankly, neither should we." (Ibid.)
Amen. It is a shame that the Catholic Church has not reached out with an inclusive message to all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, who possess a good heart and strive to grow spiritually. There is some segment of the homosexual population that was raised Catholic and that would welcome continued participation in the church. As one Catholic to another, "Peace be with you, and welcome along this journey of faith."
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