David Morrison and Ron Belgau are members of Courage, a group of same-sex-attracted Roman Catholics who believe homosexual behavior is sinful and therefore choose to be celibate.
On Feb. 29, Morrison dissected the sloppy theology, stereotypes, and inhospitality of Barbara Kralis, a writer for Alan Keyes’ Renew America web site. Belgau joined in the discussion.
The pair’s reaction to Kralis is understandable: Kralis demands that celibate homosexuals be driven out of the priesthood, referring to them not by their humanity, but by their “stench.”
Morrison is far from perfect. For example, his December 2003 associations of same-gender sex with cannibalism struck some readers as illogical and deeply homophobic. And he frequently succumbs to generalizations of his own about unnamed, “self-described gay activists.”
Nevertheless, Morrison and Belgau show integrity in holding culture warriors accountable to their own professed standards of theological correctness and hospitality.
For the record I think its important to point out that I (and I believe Ron) both share the Church’s teaching that calls men and women living with same sex attraction to live chastely, just as all other Christians are called to do as well, and not celibately.
Folks old enough to remember an aspect of the “new math” in grade school might remember being taught sets and subsets of things. That can help understand the difference. Draw a large circle on a piece of paper and write inside it chastity. Draw smaller circles within it and one of those can be identified as “celibacy” and another as “married chastity.”
Celibacy and married chastity are disciplines within the larger virtue of chastity, to which all Christians are called as a virtue. Celibacy is a promise that secular (i.e. not part of an order) make not to marry.
Married couples attain married chastity when they leave their sexual expression open to the possibility of conceiving children and when they remain faithful to their spouses.
Of the ideas we are discussing here, chastity is by far the deeper and most embracing. It is possible, for example, to live a celibate life that can be deeply unchaste.
If celibacy is a proper subset of chastity (as you claim) – then no it isn’t possible to be celibate and unchaste.
But I honestly do care much about this issue – just thought I would correct your set theory.
So, this explains why math has never been a strength of mine. My point is that one can live a technically celibate life and still have a deeply unchaste heart, and for that matter behavior too.
This woman’s comments are truly bizarre and about as far from Catholic teaching as I can imagine.
The questioning of whether a Eucharist celebrated by a validly ordained gay priest is somehow not valid is not even an acceptable question within Catholic or Orthodox theology.