Church Teaching

Do I really believe in this? The organizations that would insist we live up to the Church’s teachings or get out are often not willing to hire us, whether we live up to them or not. And I’m sitting here at my secular workplace, thinking to myself: “But I really do believe in the Church. I really do.”

Revoice Reflections: What Sustains a Side B Position? The sustenance of a Side B position doesn’t come from holding a Side B position. It’s not really about one particular doctrine. It’s about everything else. The common arguments over the meaning of marriage are just exercises in failing to really get the point.

The Death of Objective Morality. More and more we find that objective moral teaching is dead. Perhaps for lack of interest, perhaps for lack of commitment. And perhaps it should be…

Cohabitation, the Catechism, and a Catholic Job. “One of our followers had her parish job offer rescinded upon the Archdiocese discovering she’s cohabiting with her fiancé. What say you, #CatholicTwitter?”

The Playground for Homosexuals.Why is it that the Church prioritizes explorations of the many facets of the married vocation, while the question of homosexuality and the vocation of the person who experiences “homosexual inclinations” is allotted three brief paragraphs in the Catechism?

Published in Logos: A Catholic Perspective on Homoerotic Desire.My article focuses on the question of homoerotic desire, attempting to shift the current cultural conversations in the Church on homosexual lust and marriage to more fundamental conversations on same-sex desire, love, and creativity. It looks at Church history and tradition, drawing on the resources of the past to give a fresh perspective on today’s labored debates.

A Doctrine that Bends and Sways.Certainly a tree must stay rooted, and any plant that is constantly uprooted and replanted will have limited growth. But a doctrine that does not bend and sway and grow has died, has fossilized. And it will break. Those who insist we stand upon it bring us to our deaths.

Catholics Discuss: Can Gay Catholics Hold Hands?Last week, I had a post on Catholicism, homosexuality, teleology, and holding hands. The post generated a discussion among some friends, and I thought I’d share it…

What Good Does a Good Need?“When two people of the opposite sex in a romantic relationship hold hands, the handholding is directed towards marriage; the holding of hands has the conjugal relationship as its ultimate ‘end.’ But what’s the ‘end’ for two men holding hands?”

Catholic Young Adults Discuss: Homosexuality.You have to develop the relationship, find out where they are, and share Church teachings in stages of development. For her, this didn’t mean giving up or hiding Church teaching or your beliefs.

Gay Celibacy, Step One.The realization that one is radically and recklessly embraced by Christ and the Church is the precondition for any Christian morality, since this morality rests on the fundamental and irrevocable dignity of the human person. 

The Victim III: The Gay Christian Victim.True freedom is a feature of the interior life, rather than a consequence of one’s external circumstances.

Why I Call Myself a “Gay Catholic”.When I say I am “gay,” I am saying, in part, “These people (who also identify as gay) are my people. Between them and I, there is a we.

Being Celibate, Christian and Gay…As Catholics, we can help others be open to conversion, but it is never something we can get others to do.

Me and Porn II: For Your Hope.The defensiveness, and the constant references to catechism paragraphs and the magisterium, revealed how much the hope was not mine.

God in the Gay Bar.He was hot, ok? Can you blame me for being interested? About my height, well dressed, athletic looking. Dark hair, nice smile. Nice smile directed towards me.

What is sexuality?The Catholic Church does not have a clear definition of “sexual,” and Her magisterial documents discuss sexuality in inconsistent ways.

Do we want gay Catholics to be chaste?Chastity is not a state achieved through a gnostic awakening, but a lifelong project grounded in concrete love and service. 

“Homosexuality”: The Church Doesn’t Know What She’s Talking About.This isn’t to deny language’s importance, but we should prioritize listening to how different people understand these ill-defined terms and use those understandings as a starting point for pastoral practice

Gay Catholic Dating: Sin or Heartbreak.A friend recently told me that same-sex dating was bound to “end in either sin or heartbreak.” This view was unsurprising, and I held it for a while myself.

Is the catechism homophobic? Depends on who’s reading it.I would be open to changing the catechism’s language on homosexuality. But, contrary to Fr. Martin’s commentary, not because I believe the language is incorrect.

Dr. Lu on Same-Sex Attraction: Stories and Embrace.If He who is the Truth eludes definition, we should think carefully before we begin to identify either truth or salvation with defining. 

Dr. Lu on Same-Sex Attraction: Rival Versions of Truth.Stories not only capture the human spirit in ways that syllogisms cannot, but they also evidence Christian witness in ways that Enlightenment emphasis on disinterested rational thought has sought to destroy.

Dr. Lu on Same-Sex Attraction: Mimetic Opposition.There is another danger, however: the danger, in the process of combating our “opponents,” of becoming them. 

Dr. Lu on Same-Sex Attraction: A Response.Viewing ourselves—Christians—in contrast to our secular/progressive/modern peers when promoting a Christian life can lead to deep problems in theological and philosophical inquiry. 

Lecture: Catholicism and Homosexuality.I gave a talk in Texas to a high school group on Catholicism and homosexuality! You can watch it here.

Audio: My current research on marriage, love, and friendship.This week I complete my M.A. in Catholic Studies, with my Master’s Thesis titled: “It Is Not Good for Man to Be Alone: Love, Marriage, and Friendship in the Catholic Tradition.” 

Homosexuality and Friendship: A Response to Austin Ruse.The sexuality of gay people makes them exceptional, in the same way that each person’s individual traits make him or her exceptional.

The Coming Out of Christian Doctrine.She nodded her head up and down, smiling tenderly, and responded, “It’s ok. You can say it. You can just say it.”

The Meaning of Vocation.If the Church does have a calling for gay men and women to a life of celibacy, the Church also has a responsibility to aid these men and women in building such a life.

My Early Education.I’ve come to have a lot more to say about homosexuality than a simple condemnation of “sodomy,” and so has the Church.

Newman, and the development of Catholic teaching on abortion and homosexuality.In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.

“The Gay Issue”: Broadening Same-Sex Attraction.What does it mean for a person to be “attracted” to another? What does this attraction consist of? What are its limits?

“The Gay Issue”: Within Catholicism.Few (if any) documents present a thorough and compelling treatment of what homosexuality is and how to understand it.