In defense of bishop’s letter

In defense of bishop’s letter

In response to letter writer Angel Llavona’s comments about Bishop Malloy’s “disappointing letter read to us during Mass,” the bishop is following the Catholic Church’s definitive teaching on the subject of homosexuality. That is what he is supposed to do as the leader of the teachings of the Catholic Church in his diocese.

The church’s teaching is that homosexual acts are always disordered and are gravely immoral. Most of these are acts are against nature, which is defined according to the Readers Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary as “that which is the accepted or legal limits of morality; normality: an act against nature.” Isn’t participating in a sexual relationship with a member of one’s own sex an act against nature? I don’t see a gray area here.

Lawmakers can pass laws legalizing same sex marriage but they are redefining the word marriage, which is defined as a legal contract between a man and a woman. What is so confusing about that?

The letter also states, “Apparently, Bishop Malloy is unable, or unwilling, to make sense of the prophetic nature of Pope Francis’ recent remarks on homosexuals and is doing everything he can to assure his followers that nothing has really changed.”

Guess what? Nothing has really changed. The Pope’s remarks were initiated relative to gay priests. Pope Francis’ words, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” are not suggesting that the priests or anyone else should act on their homosexual tendencies, which the church considers a sin. He adds that if someone has this tendency, the important thing is to live in the light of God.

Mary Lou Vanda

Batavia