23 November 2005

Periphally related: homsexualy and the church

The issue of homosexuality is peripherally related to science, as there is still some uncertainty whether it is biological or sociological. Within the field of psychiatry, it is not considered a disorder, but within the field of religion it is considered anywhere from a disorder to a sin. The Vatican has just weighed in with its most liberal statement on the issue yet.




In an eagerly awaited document, the Vatican has reiterated its policy against gay priests, but has said it would allow those who have "clearly overcome" homosexual tendencies to start the process of becoming a priest.

In spelling out its position on Tuesday, the Vatican office that deals with education within the Catholic Church made a distinction between deep-seated homosexual tendencies and what it called "the expression of a transitory problem."
...
Msgr. Steve Rohlff, rector of Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland, disagreed.

"It flows obviously from the church's teaching on human sexuality, which has been constant from the First century to the 20th Century -- that homosexuality is an intrinsic disorder. It is a psychosexual disorder."

He added, "Does that mean that somebody is wicked or evil? No. It means they have a psychosexual disorder."

(CNN)


The Catholic church now officially states that homosexuality is a psychological disorder that can be overcome, and NOT explicitly a sin. Psychological disorders are not all necessarily sins - for example, depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder are not sins. Interesting...

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