After decades of struggle, Providence has fostered a thriving gay enclave
in the only New England state not to sanction same-sex unions.
Q & A with Bishop Tobin:
Catholic teachings on homosexuality of Providence, and Journal Staff Writer Mark Arsenault. Does God create homosexuals? God creates people, and some people have a heterosexual orientation and some people have a homosexual orientation. Does God determine which orientation someone has? That gets to the question of whether it's nature or nurture. If it's based in nature, sure there's some determination there. Much like you're born with any other inclination, orientation or disposition. The question of orientation is not in itself a question of morality. The church is very clear about saying that homosexual people are indeed children of God. They deserve all the dignity and respect and love that everybody else receives. Where, of course, we have the difficulty is [with] questions of behavior. Even if someone has an inclination or orientation, we don't believe that predisposes them to act out a certain way. So even if someone is predisposed to homosexual activity, we believe that as human beings they have the spiritual freedom and the moral freedom to make certain choices. Much like, as a heterosexual, that does not give me license to any sexual activity I would like. I have to have some measure of control and discipline. That's true for homosexuals, exactly as it is for heterosexuals. After Attorney General Lynch issued an opinion that same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts would be valid in Rhode Island, you said he had been affected by a "relentless gay agenda." What did you mean by that term? I think at least some people in our culture, some people in our society, are really pushing this agenda on society, on culture in general; actively and relentlessly pushing the concepts of gay marriage or civil unions. Trying to — at least in my view — trying to impose that option. You speak against unjust discrimination of homosexuals. What is unjust discrimination? Homosexual people, like heterosexual people, should have access to housing and health care, and credit and whatever else you need. Those rights were assured by state legislation in 1995, after a 12-year political battle. Would you have supported the gay civil rights bill? Yeah, I would have supported that because it does not involve the approbation of — the affirmation of — immoral behavior. Now if they want to use marriage as a vehicle, that presumes there's going to be what we believe to be immoral and unnatural sexual activity. And as soon as you start getting into that realm, that becomes problematic. What is the importance of love in marriage? Love is critical in marriage, as in life. We believe that when God instituted marriage He did so for two reasons. For the unity of husband and wife — that's the component of love — but also to generate and create new life. Gay couples married in Massachusetts say they are in love, and that their weddings brought them joy. Are those emotions real? I'm sure they're very real. And I love all sorts of people I can't have sex with. So, yeah, the feelings can be very real and the emotions can be very intense. That does not give me the right to have sex with people because I love them, whether heterosexual or homosexual. There's no denying the feelings, but as soon as we get to the area of immoral sexual behavior, that's where it gets problematic. Are those emotions wrong? No. There's nothing wrong with the emotions. Nothing wrong with joy. Nothing wrong with love, obviously. That does not give people the right to act out in immoral sexual activity. Two teenagers in passionate love can have lots of joy and love .… That does not give them the right to act out sexually. You agree that church teachings on homosexuality are not well understood. Why is that? The teachings of the church on sexuality are pretty highly nuanced. They don't lend themselves easily to black and white headlines. For example, when we say that homosexual activity is immoral, a lot of times people will say, ‘Well, the church is homophobic.' And that's not at all true. But I can understand why people would confuse that. When we speak out against gay marriage, that's not intended to be a persecution of gay people. I think some of those distinctions get lost because they are delicate and nuanced and not often explained well. That's not unusual for Catholic Church teaching. Our teachings are often highly refined and nuanced and they don't always play well in society. Why was Jesus silent on homosexuality? Probably because it wasn't a burning social issue of the time. It's also important to note that Jesus, while he was silent on that particular topic, he was very clear on the nature of marriage being between a man and a woman. He was very clear about condemning other sexual sins, such as fornication and adultery. Many people cite scripture to show that homosexuality is immoral. But few quote Deuteronomy 22:11, which commands: "Thou shalt not wear a garment of diverse sort, as of woolen and linen together." There are also prohibitions against planting two kinds of seed in the same field. Why are some lines in scripture followed, and others ignored? There are tons of things in the Bible that have to be taken in context. We believe it's the church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that is properly equipped to interpret the Bible. We need to make the distinction between things that are — how should I say it? — essential moral norms, and those things that are purely accidental, related to a specific time and culture. Who does that? The church does that. We do it in the context of our 2,000-year tradition; we do it, we believe, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You cannot take everything in the Bible literally. The church has to sort that out. What would you like to add to this conversation? I think my role as a bishop is to be a teacher, and sometimes teaching involves difficult issues. Sometimes we take positions that we think are important. It's not intended to offend people, but to teach and challenge.
marsenau@projo.com / (401) 277-7231 |
