“Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions…” Encyclical Letter “Caritas in Veritate” of Pope Benedict XVI.
Those who most often, and most loudly, criticize the Catholic Church for Her teachings on homosexuality often do so under the self-guise of enlightened progressive humanity. On the other hand, those that uphold Catholicism are perceived as homophobic medievalists; one well-known and vocal detractor said that the Church’s stance is “…the basis for discrimination, rejection and violence the world over.” Others, many from within the Church, use the term “rigid” to describe the current Catholic prescription for homosexuality; while bemoaning the lack of “acceptance.” As justification, they point towards the subjectively ambiguous and the anecdotal: that nice same-sex couple that lives across the street; the gay guy I work with; my gay cousin. For the most part, their interest and involvement is either all-consuming or purely superficial. They are too close - causing a deep swerve into sentiment that blocks out the obvious: in the case of homosexuality, the blatant health risks. Others, with a less fixed association, are usually compelled by pop-culture and mass opinion. Both conveniently overlook or idly disregard the Truth; the Truth that has been solely upheld and preserved by the Catholic Church. In the ever-changing mind of the world, charity has morphed into a Pollyanna pie-in-the-sky false hope that everything is okay; therefore, everyone can sleep at night - free from the worry: after all, AIDS no longer exists; my gay little brother is safe and happy. Right?