Given in Rome, at St. Peter's on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, in the year 1992, Pope John Paul II gave his Apostolic Exhortation: “Pastores Dabo Vobis: To the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day.” With regards to those suffering with same-sex attraction, I found this passage the most interesting:
“As a kingly people, the Church sees herself rooted in and enlivened by ‘the law of the Spirit of life’ (Rom. 8:2), which is essentially the royal law of charity (cf. Jas. 2:8) or the perfect law of freedom (cf. Jas. 1:25). Therefore, the Church fulfills her mission when she guidesevery member of the faithful to discover and live his or her own vocation in freedom and to bring it to fulfillment in charity.”
In the context of homosexuality, the above statement is very similar to the directives set out in The Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”
Therefore, when one accepts the teachings of the Church, there is freedom within that self-surrender. Because, when we give ourselves over to what is noble and True, it is not a form of enslavement, persecution, or discrimination, but a striving towards the highest possible achievement of humankind.
Within the Church, this can most successfully come about through the guidance of the priesthood, who administer the Sacraments. Here, in relation to the responsibility of the priest, John Paul said:
“Your priesthood is absolutely vital. There is no substitute for it. You carry the main burden of priestly ministry through your day - to - day service of the faithful. You are ministers of the Eucharist and ministers of God's mercy in the sacrament of penance. It is you who bring comfort to people and guide them in difficult moments in their lives.”
Therefore, the priest is to help those under his care achieve Sainthood, always with charity, but the priest is not a nursemaid. He is not there to mother us, or make us feel satisfied, or help us to feel content in our present situation; he not there to agree with us when we have clearly taken the wrong path. In terms of homosexual action, the alternative is clear: which the priest must openly present and foster with all his charges. To acquiesce and capitulate to the “disorder” is to not offer freedom; it is to guarantee slavery to an impulse and a wound. Sadly, some priests believe that in order to embrace the homosexual person they must too embrace the homosexual state. When, in reality, they must guide, and help that person “discover” their true vocation – which the Church has made evident.