Bishops to Pinoy LGBTs: Be who you are, but accept that you're second-class... in your church and in your nation

In typically confusing Roman Catholic style, two Filipino Bishops of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have said that they don't care about a person's sexuality, and that they only care about making sure anyone other than heterosexuals cannot have sex or form legal unions.  This all fits tragically in with what I wrote about in a previous post, "We accept you as long as you never find fulfillment."

Essentially the two bishops, Paciano Aniceto and Oscar Cruz, aren't saying anything new.  This has been the line of the Catholic Church for the past few decades.  Their reiteration comes in conjunction with the Philippine launch of a Catholic-sponsored book entitled Homosexuality and The Catholic Church.  The crux of their view is that it's okay for gays and lesbians to come out as gay and lesbian, but at the same time, if they choose to be in a relationship, form a household, or enter into a committed union with someone of the same sex, they then become sinners who need to be "corrected."

The book isn't anything new, actually.  It was first released in 2007 but wasn't released in the Philippines until March of 2011.  I actually had the opportunity to read it in 2009.  As a biologist, I give the author (Fr. John Harvey, who recently passed away) a thumbs-up for promoting tolerance, but a thumbs-down for a lack of scientific facts.  The book presents a view of sexuality that is straight out of the playbook of early 80s psychoanalysis, and as such promotes a type of pseudoscience (essentially saying that homosexuality is a sickness, but saying it with a compassionate smile), which is neither accurate nor beneficial to the discussion.

According to a recent interview with ABS-CBN News, Bishop Cruz stated that "We have to respect people with other sexual orientation [sic]."  So far so good, but then he takes a trip to non-scientific weirdsville.  "Homosexuality is caused by some kind of sexual misidentity caused by some hormonal imbalance or something."  Wow.  Or something.

Cruz went on to say of homosexuality: "It is a sexual inclination.  Yun ay kagagawan ng kanilang pangangatawan [that is their constitutional handiwork].  We are born as boys and girls, there is no third sex, end of story.  But because of hormonal imbalance, some girls have the tendency to become boys and some boys have the tendency to become girls."

This is what happens when men with no scientific or biological training talk about things they know nothing about.  It comes out sounding foolish, because it makes no sense.  He's got it all wrong, but even if he did have it right imagine how cruel what he just said is.  LGBTs have a hormonal imbalance and it's not their fault, but we forbid them from finding love, happiness, or from forming stable unions anyway.

By the way, homosexuality is not an inclination it is an orientation.  It is also not girls wanting to become boys or vice versa.  That is transgenderism, which is something entirely different from homosexuality.  (See definitions page.)  Furthermore, the term "third sex" is an antiquated term referring to transgenders, not homosexuals, and is not commonly used in the modern age or considered politically correct.  Cruz seems to think that gay men and women are a new sex hybrid of half-man/half-woman, which is an unintelligent and far too simplistic thing to be saying in 2011.

Cruz went on to say that the church is not condemning homosexuality, but it will not tolerate homosexual acts because they are against biblical teaching.  "It would be wrong only if you act on it," he said, "the same thing with heterosexuals if we act on it contrary to morals then it is wrong...so same with homosexuals."

But the way the CBCP confronts the issue is not on a level playing field at all.  To straights who are born straight, the CBCP is saying don't act contrary to morals -- in other words, don't have sex outside of marriage.  To LGBTs they are saying the same, but going a step further by saying don't have sex outside of marriage... Oh and by the way, if you do get married (or even have a same-sex girlfriend or boyfriend) you're condemned to hell.  ...Even though we admit you're probably born that way and it's no fault of your own.

If it really were "so same with homosexuals [sic]," then the same standards would apply (as they do biblically; see question #3), and LGBTs would be offered marriage rights the same as straight folk.

God help these men see their irrationality and un-Christian behavior.  Help them acknowledge modern science as a gift from God, as the ability of the human mind to advance and learn previously misunderstood things.  I pray that any Catholic LGBTs reading this will know that you are not an inclination or a misidentity; you are not a third gender misfit; you are not required to live a life alone just because of your inborn sexual orientation.  You're beautiful, you're normal, you're invaluable, and I hope that some day your church will open its eyes and see that, too.

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