Tuesday, January 10, 2012

CHURCHES DON'T WELCOME MENTAL HEALTH

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about a woman she met and ended up discussing gay issues...and the woman's Fundamentalist church. My friend has been socializing with my partner and me for at least twenty years, and she loves us both...always hopes we'll finally have a wedding. The woman told her that her church believes that homosexuality is "an inclination that has to be fought". That got me to thinking about the whole issue again, especially in regard to my own Catholic church. I think being gay isn't an inclination that I have, it's who I am. I love women, I love being with them and having them in my closest circle of people...I love how they think, how they view the world etc etc etc...but I'm not sexually attracted to women. I have an inclination to write..or to work in my garden...or travel...or read...or hang around with Woof, but I'm not simply "inclined" to be gay. Why would I want to fight who I am? That's a twisted concept.

I know that the Vatican call's homosexuality an "intrinsic disorder". I of course don't see it as any sort of a disorder....that implies an unhealthy personality. ( The AMA and DSM disagree with the Church as well.)

Now we've all heard "love the sinner...but hate the sin"...and my church says that being homosexual is alright...but any homosexual acts are sinful. So a celibate homosexual is acceptable. No Thanks...not me. Now of course there is more than one Mr Michelle Bachman out there trying to make homosexuals into heterosexuals, and the damage that causes is just astounding. Ain't gonna happen. If you are reading this blog, you are either heterosexual or homosexual (or bi sexual), can YOU imagine a big switcheroo?

While the archbishop of LA just resigned because he has two kids, a local priest is enroute to jail for child pornography , priestly pedophiles have damaged the church, Fundamentalist preachers get caught paying hustlers, jeeeeeze.

There are many many very good, very healthy, well adjusted people who are not welcome in many churches...because they're not either fighting themselves or because they have fallen in love and want to spend their life with another person. The Bishop in Minnesota who has added a prayer to the liturgy that begs God to prevent same sex marriages might well consider something a little healthier to sweep across those cold cities.

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