I, for one, don’t get much joy from writing about homosexuality.
I’d much prefer to do battle against something a little less debased. Like divorce for instance. But for whatever reason, God has put us in a time when the public battle against divorce has been lost (for now) and our lives are shaped by the consequences of that.
What I mean by that is this: if divorce was not such a mundane affair, and if marriage really was cherished for life, then all the notions of homosexual unions would be ridiculed for what they are. Utter depravity.
But, as I said, today’s fight is against homosexuality. It’s everywhere. Even in our capital, which has just legalised ‘gay marriage’.
That’s why today is an opportune moment to look at what real men and women have said about homosexuality. These are quotes from the Fathers of the Church and the saints (with thanks to various Catholic websites).
St Gregory the Great
“Brimstone calls to mind the foul odours of the flesh, as Sacred Scripture itself confirms when it speaks of the rain of fire and brimstone poured by the Lord upon Sodom. He had decided to punish in it the crimes of the flesh, and the very type of punishment emphasised the shame of that crime, since brimstone exhales stench and fire burns. It was, therefore, just that the sodomites, burning with perverse desires that originated from the foul odour of flesh, should perish at the same time by fire and brimstone so that through this just chastisement they might realise the evil perpetrated under the impulse of a perverse desire.”
St Peter Damien
“This vice strives to destroy the walls of one’s heavenly motherland and rebuild those of devastated Sodom. Indeed, it violates temperance, kills purity, stifles chastity and annihilates virginity … with the sword of a most infamous union. It infects, stains and pollutes everything; it leaves nothing pure, there is nothing but filth … This vice expels one from the choir of the ecclesiastical host and obliges one to join the energumens and those who work in league with the devil; it separates the soul from God and links it with the demons. This most pestiferous queen of the Sodomites [which is homosexuality] makes those who obey her tyrannical laws repugnant to men and hateful to God … It humiliates at church, condemns at court, defiles in secret, dishonours in public, gnaws at the person’s conscience like a worm and burns his flesh like fire…
“The miserable flesh burns with the fire of lust, the cold intelligence trembles under the rancour of suspicion, and the unfortunate man’s heart is possessed by hellish chaos, and his pains of conscience are as great as the tortures in punishment he will suffer … Indeed, this scourge destroys the foundations of faith, weakens the force of hope, dissipates the bonds of charity, annihilates justice, undermines fortitude, … and dulls the edge of prudence.
“What else shall I say? It expels all the forces of virtue from the temple of the human heart and, pulling the door from its hinges, introduces into it all the barbarity of vice … In effect, the one whom … this atrocious beast [of homosexuality] has swallowed down its bloody throat is prevented, by the weight of his chains, from practising all good works and is precipitated into the very abysses of its uttermost wickedness. Thus, as soon as someone has fallen into this chasm of extreme perdition, he is exiled from the heavenly motherland, separated from the Body of Christ, confounded by the authority of the whole Church, condemned by the judgment of all the Holy Fathers, despised by men on earth, and reproved by the society of heavenly citizens. He creates for himself an earth of iron and a sky of bronze … He cannot be happy while he lives nor have hope when he dies, because in life he is obliged to suffer the ignominy of men’s derision and later, the torment of eternal condemnation.”
St John Chrysostom
“All passions are dishonourable, for the soul is even more prejudiced and degraded by sin than is the body by disease; but the worst of all passions is lust between men… There is nothing, absolutely nothing more mad or damaging than this perversity.”
St Augustine
“Sins against nature, therefore, like the sin of Sodom, are abominable and deserve punishment whenever and wherever they are committed.”
St Thomas Aquinas
“However, they are called passions of ignominy because they are not worthy of being named, according to that passage in Ephesians (5:12): ‘For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.’ For if the sins of the flesh are commonly censurable because they lead man to that which is bestial in him, much more so is the sin against nature, by which man debases himself lower than even his animal nature.”
St Catherine of Siena (quoting Our Lord)
“They not only fail from resisting this frailty [of fallen human nature] … but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognise the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords. For Me, this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgment of My Divine Justice, which could no longer bear them…. It is disagreeable to the demons, not because evil displeases them and they find pleasure in good, but because their nature is angelic and thus is repulsed upon seeing such an enormous sin being committed. It is true that it is the demon who hits the sinner with the poisoned arrow of lust, but when a man carries out such a sinful act, the demon leaves.”
St Bernardine of Siena
“No sin has greater power over the soul than the one of cursed sodomy, which was always detested by all those who lived according to God….. Such passion for undue forms borders on madness. This vice disturbs the intellect, breaks an elevated and generous state of soul, drags great thoughts to petty ones, makes [men] pusillanimous and irascible, obstinate and hardened, servilely soft and incapable of anything. Furthermore, the will, being agitated by the insatiable drive for pleasure, no longer follows reason, but furore.”
And this one, more than all the others, should be well remembered today.
St Basil of Caesara
“The cleric or monk who molests youths or boys or is caught kissing or committing some turpitude, let him be whipped in public, deprived of his crown [tonsure] and, after having his head shaved, let his face be covered with spittle; and [let him be] bound in iron chains, condemned to six months in prison, reduced to eating rye bread once a day in the evening three times per week. After these six months living in a separate cell under the custody of a wise elder with great spiritual experience, let him be subjected to prayers, vigils and manual work, always under the guard of two spiritual brothers, without being allowed to have any relationship… with young people.”
But lest all this be too depressing or hard to hear, there is also hope. Sin is a defect or a blight on that which is good. God calls us to goodness and perfection. He has also given us hope in His mercy and forgiveness. That is why the words of Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene and the Pharisees are so wonderful:
“Go, and now sin no more.”
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
October 28, 2013
“There is only one suffering and we all share in it.”
Julian of Norwich.
Perhaps you should study the works of this woman
You may get a better understanding of the concept that your god is supposed to be a god of love not one of hate and intolerance
September 24, 2014
A God of love does fit with a God that does not agree and wish for homosexuality, IF homosexuality is in fact wrong.
Disagreeing with Homosexuality is not hate. I personally do not agree with Bernard on his views on homosexuality, however believing homosexuality is wrong is no more hateful than believing pedophilia is wrong.
This is the problem with the mindset of people today. Any attempt to create boundaries on human behaviour is considered hate and intolerance by default. It is not. In fact the idea that it is hate, is nothing other than a projection from those that really don’t like to be told what to do. It is a similar mindset to the Islamic mindset. Don’t let them do what they want, IE interrupt traffic and business by praying on the streets, and they will yell, HATE, INTOLERANCE, PREJUDICE!!!
Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, saying that their mum must HATE them for not letting them have too many chocolates. No, the mum doesn’t hate the child, the mum is making sure the child does the right thing.
Grow up, and you will see this for what it is. People are entitled to disagree with homosexuality, and any other concept that we discuss. Too bad if you don’t like it. Be an adult and learn to discuss the topic and “prove” your point, instead of resorting to the childish tactic of “You are being hateful and intolerant”. Rubbish.
October 23, 2013
The big fallacy promoted by activists is that homosexuality is a sexual orientation, just like heterosexuality, and therefore is deserving of equality. But, it is not a sexual orientation, nor even a sexual preference, but rather a disordered behaviour. God is not stupid, nor is nature. It has been said that if either intended homosexuality to be a legitimate orientation they would have allowed men to become pregnant to other men via sodomy and women to become pregnant to women via whatever means. But that’s another fallacy, of course, because such a situation would only require one sex, not two. At the end of the day it is impossible to argue that the human body is set-up for homosexual behaviour. The anal passage is no more equipped for sexual intercourse than the lungs are for smoking. Homosexuality is then in reality a behaviour and as we all know behaviours can be changed. Pederasts know that boys who are not inclined to homosexuality can become habituated to it and that is why grooming works. On the other hand they tell us that homosexuals are born that way and that nothing can change them. They would have us believe that homosexuality is fixed and heterosexuality is fluid, and tragically some people are stupid enough and weird enough to believe them. The truth is that homosexual feelings and attractions can be relieved but the individual concerned has to want to change. Many do and that really frightens gay activists who like being what they consider “different” and “diverse” even if it leads to suffering and early death.
October 25, 2013
Hi Phil. Great comment. Homosexuality is not something good. It is a perversion of human sexuality – which is designed to lead to life. When you consider what it is to be God, there is not much greater power than the power to create life. And God has shared that creative power with us. That is why it is such a great offence to pervert the action by which we can create life.
October 23, 2013
Bernard while we are on the subject of priests raping young children I was wondering if you could answer a theological question for me please ? :—- “If your God is omnipresent and sees and knows everything in the universe and if he has all the power of the universe and the ability to send angels etc etc etc.
How do you cope with the concept that your God watches children being raped tortured mutilated and murdered, how does it feel to know your God hears young children begging and pleading to him for the abuse to stop begging God for their very lives…….. yet your God ignores them, he watches doing nothing as children are horrifically abused. Even when his own church and his own priests are the abusers?
How can you sing the praise of an entity that would do that ? If your God exists he is a sick evil hate filled God, as a decent human being who has morals and cares for children I would spend an eternity in hell rather than worship a deity that is an accessory to child abuse.
October 23, 2013
Well I guess it’s either God or nature that’s responsible for our presence on this world, Doug. If you have an alternative explanation let me know. But, let us suppose there is no God. That would leave nature/natural selection as being responsible for your horrific scenario and I’d say that gives very little hope for the world and no comfort. It’s the strong over the weak – survival of the fittest. Mother Nature or Gaia or whatever other name suits you is really a b*tch ain’t she? Nature is a sick, evil, hate filled phenomenon for sure. Which leaves me with questions for you, Doug? How did you become a decent human being who has morals and cares for children? Where did you obtain your morality. Why do you have a sense of right and wrong? The Christian story of salvation has the answer to all those questions and I suggest you familiarise yourself with it. There’s no need for a literal understanding because God often uses allegory to illustrate truth. But if you really want answers to your questions that’s where to start looking.
October 25, 2013
Doug, it is a difficult question: the question of evil and how God, if He is so good, can allow it to exist. However, the existence of evil is conclusive proof of goodness. You cannot have evil without goodness. And despite all the evils in this world, all of us cling to life and love. Even on earth, evil is beaten by goodness. Furthermore, when you look at evil, you see that it is not a thing in itself, but a defect in a thing. An bad hammer is a hammer that does not work. A disease in the body is a body that is attacked and no longer able to perform as it should. And a child abuser is a person who has failed to live up to the dignity of man, but has debased himself and hurt others. So why does God allow it to happen? I don’t know, but I do know this. The greatest stories are those of people who have risen from sin to goodness. The greatest loves are those that have overcome difficulty and hate. And whenever evil has appeared, somehow a greater good has too. It is a paradox, but it also shows that God can bring a greater good out of evil. It defeats the father evil, Satan, more completely. It was through the evil of the cross that redemption came into the world. God allows us to love Him by giving us the freedom to choose to be good or evil. And Hell is a place where God’s perfect justice is also shown. For God is so good that every evil action is also accounted for – either through punishment, which we all deserve, or through forgiveness, which God grants to those who seek it.
October 23, 2013
It is rare I am in agreement with a Catholic saint but I do agree with this quote
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St Basil of Caesara
————
“The cleric or monk who molests youths or boys or is caught kissing or committing some turpitude, let him be whipped in public, deprived of his crown [tonsure] and, after having his head shaved, let his face be covered with spittle; and [let him be] bound in iron chains, condemned to six months in prison, reduced to eating rye bread once a day in the evening three times per week. After these six months living in a separate cell under the custody of a wise elder with great spiritual experience, let him be subjected to prayers, vigils and manual work, always under the guard of two spiritual brothers, without being allowed to have any relationship… with young people.”
———————————
What a great shame the catholic church did not heed and act on these comments.
Instead they have protected and defended child abusers and rapists, they have aided and abetted them and allowed them the protection of the church to continue their crimes.
It does make you wonder what kind of sad sick deviants protect child abusers?
October 23, 2013
Luke 6 ;42 comes to mind ————- How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
October 23, 2013
Doug do you also have the same attitude toward eg. the police? They have a history of police officers being arrested for possession of child pornography and child molestation, Do you condemn the whole police force because they had some bad apples who also were shifted around police stations? I Personally know some very fine upstanding police personnel who are disgusted at the actions of those arrested. The action of the person committing the crime is responsible not the institution they belong to.
Yes it was a detestable and heinous crime that those priests did to young children, I do not condone it one single iota, but do not blame all Catholics for the crime of one of their religious or laity.
September 24, 2014
He didn’t blame all Catholics.
October 23, 2013
Some great quotes from the Saints, in particular the quote from St. Bernardine of Siena. It is evident very much in society regarding homosexuality and that they no longer follow reason but furore
.
October 22, 2013
Just copied and pasted from the Federal Attorney-General’s website, regarding marriage in Australia:
“Australian law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages entered into in other countries are not recognised as legal marriages in Australia.
Some state and territory governments allow people to register their same-sex relationship. You can find out more information from state and territory registries of births, deaths and marriages.”
The marriage laws in this country are FEDERAL laws NOT state laws, so states or territories cannot actually CHANGE the laws to suit their residents’ dictates. Note the opening sentence of the second paragraph from the FEDERAL A.G.’s website. Pretty much sums it up for me. Somewhere in the back of my mind is a little voice telling me that the FEDERAL laws ALWAYS rule over STATE laws. Why we even have STATES is beyond me. With only 23 million people here, it is ridiculous that we waste all that money on three tiers of government, when in the UK with their 63.7million, only has 2. Our second tier should have more authority than our local councils, but less than the current power of the states. Think how much more money there would be to use for infrastructure, health, policing, housing, education etc.
October 25, 2013
Hi Jools. Thanks for commenting. I hope that the High Court overturns these laws. If it does not, then it will be up to the Federal Government to take matters into its own hands, just as it did previously with the Northern Territory’s euthanasia laws. Unfortunately, I’m not sure even Tony Abbott will have the stomach for that.
October 27, 2013
By abolishing the States and instituting regional government you have outlined the Green Labor and UN plan. It all sounds good until you look into it further. Regional government is a key plank of UN Agenda 21 which is all about Central government control. In fact there was a Parliamentary Select Committee on Regional Government and abolishing the States. Also a report by Richard Murray, ANZSOG, called “A New Federation-a Cities and Regions Approach”. Hence the third proposed Referendum on Local Goverment, as a first step towards abolishing the states. In fact this is why we have had the push for council amalgamations, all states have already divided up their areas into regions which are to form the core of the new regional governments. Local councils are the closest to electors and by making them larger it further removes them from Joe Public’s oversight. The smaller the council the greater the accountability to the voters and the smaller the bureaucracy.
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Australian States came into existence on Federation, they continue to have their own CONSTITUTIONS, which were created when they were colonies. The States are our bulwark against Federal Government excess.
October 22, 2013
Well said Bernard. The quotes you have displayed accurately describe the reality of homosexual activity.
I am sure that while sin harms all people, it is particularly obvious in this example that the greatest victim is the sinner himself. I am sure that being ‘gay’ is far from being gay in the historical understanding of the word.
So called ‘same sex’ marriage is defined by an act that is so indecent that it is difficult to name, let alone describe. For a man or government to claim that participants in this action are in the same married state as a husband and wife is to deny both nature and reality.
Regarding homosexuality, “Go, and now sin no more.” is very good advice.
October 25, 2013
Thanks David. I appreciate your comments and those words of Christ have special meaning for all of us. They are wonderfully hopeful.
October 22, 2013
How unfortunate that the novus ordo churches of Vatican 2 no longer speak about heaven and hell, how tragic for mankind when some members of the clergy are themselves homosexuals and have been spared until recently from persecution.
Freemasonry in alta vendita described how it would not be able to destroy the catholic church but subtly infiltrate it and destroy it from within….Bella Dodd in her memoirs gives a terrifying expose of these evil doers.
God’s anger surely must be beyond appeased and all this could have been avoided if the popes had consecrated Russia to her immaculate heart.
God help us.
October 22, 2013
I am hoping Pope Francis’s consecration of the whole world is going to be enough. Time will tell, but I suspect Russia was singled out by Our Lady, so to me it says the consecration of Russia to her, specifically, is necessary
October 23, 2013
You said,”how tragic for mankind when some members of the clergy are themselves homosexuals and have been spared until recently from persecution”.
Just remember, God sees and knows all the secrets of mankind. Those priests(and any other religious leader from any denomination) will receive their reward from God. they will not like it. The scriptures tell us about offending our little ones. Those priests will not be heading off to heaven and they will suffer eternally for their actions. they may have been spared here on earth but they won’t be in the eternities.
Many people have suffered from the evil actions of those in religious authority such as Bella Dodd that you mention as well as so many others. These evil people acted in ways in opposition to the churches that they belonged to. You can blame them for their actions, you can blame the church for not doing more, but God knows all and justice will one day be satisfied, you can rest assured of that.
October 23, 2013
Oh and one more thing I think is overlooked in this whole debate. Having homosexual or lesbian feelings is not a sin. Sin is an action word. If a person acts on those feelings in a physical way or even in their thoughts by dwelling on it, just the same as a straight person, that is the sin. That is why a homosexual man or a lesbian woman will not necessarily be sent to ‘hell’ or anywhere else other than heaven. If they live worthy despite their trials, they will retuirn to God and they WILL overcome. That is the spiritual hope for those who suffer same sex attraction. They can still be worthy to enter into His kingdom, but only by keeping His commandments and putting God first in their lives.
October 25, 2013
Hi Mick. Catholic teaching is that while homosexual tendencies are not sinful in themselves, they are still intrinsically disordered. That means that they must not just be ignored, but corrected, to become perfect. Just the same as any other sinful tendency, including the many that I have.
October 25, 2013
Alan, you have hit a real nail on the head. Since Vatican II, the Catholic Church, which believes itself to be the protector of Christ’s teaching and truth, has decided that it is no longer worthwhile condemning error. Instead, error is to be engaged with and given dignity. It is not only illogical, but has led to widespread confusion and has made the Catholic Church largely irrelevant in the public sphere. It’s a great problem.