VIEWS

Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body is a fresh re-presenting of the Church’s teaching on the gift of human sexuality and the mission of married couples. It lays out more clearly and persuasively what Paul VI taught in Humanae Vitae, while rooting the presentation in a richer biblical context.

Last month when the heat threatened the 120-degree mark, and I was cursing the sidewalk for reflecting it onto my sweated brow, I came upon a homeless man looking for a handout.

Even with many Americans still professing faith in God (sort of) we are clearly in a post-Christian era that finds its roots in the so-called sexual revolution and drug culture of the 1960s that embraced contraception, abortion and “free love.”

The Catholic standard for discerning the viability and wisdom of when to assimilate to a culture, or when to resist assimilation, must be the Gospel of Jesus as handed down to us within the Church, and as celebrated in the Sacred Liturgy.

Jesuit Father Jean de Brebeuf, in France for his final vows in 1633, returned to his difficult missionary life in Quebec. When someone would comment on the many hardships he endured living among the Huron Indians, he would respond, “Compared to the end, this is roses.”

Since the universal call to holiness demands of all a share in the Cross of Christ, it is not surprising that persons with homosexual inclinations face difficulties of various sorts as they, like all other followers of Jesus, seek to love God with all their mind and heart, and to love their neighbor as themselves.

Do not see those with homosexual inclinations as problems but as persons, persons whom Jesus redeemed by His Cross, persons called to holiness, persons with an inviolable dignity and an eternal destiny bestowed on them by God, persons like you and me, persons who have a welcome place in our Church.

When the Church at Vatican II lifted high the universal call to holiness, it rightly received an enthusiastic response. For it is indeed good news for people of every time and place. How good to know that it is possible for us all to have a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ and even to become like Him.

Do not remain on the sidelines while the rest of us take a stand for religious liberty. It is more important than ever not to be ashamed to be identified with Christ and His Church in this historic test of our faith.

Two groups of Catholics are directly impacted by the decision of the Boy Scouts of America to not prohibit youth members who profess a same-sex orientation, namely, Catholic sponsoring organizations and Catholic scouts and their families. Please remember, as you read this, I write this with the approval of my bishop, and as Diocese of Phoenix Boy Scout Chaplain.