By BRIAN CLOWES
(Editor’s Note: Brian Clowes has been director of research and training at Human Life International since 1995.)
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“Evil may have its day, but to God go the weeks and the years. It must ever be so” — Fr. Eugene Fahy, SJ.
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So far, the Culture of Life series has covered abortion and birth control. The original plan was to move on to artificial reproductive technologies, euthanasia, and eugenics. In light of recent and impending events involving the United States Supreme Court and the battles over various state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, it seems wise instead to equip Catholics to rationally discuss the “gay rights” issue earlier than originally intended. After this series on homosexuality has been concluded, we will resume with the other life issues.
When the battle over contraception began in earnest in the 1920s, virtually all Christians decided to “sit it out,” reasoning that birth control would not affect them personally. When the abortion revolution started three decades later, most Christians felt that they did not need to join the fight for the same reason.
The conflict over “gay rights” is entirely different in nature. Christians may choose not to use birth control or get abortions (although they are being forced to involuntarily support them through their taxes). But Christians are now being compelled by the power of government to not only tolerate homosexuality, but to actively support and even celebrate it. Dozens have lost their jobs just for expressing disagreement with the homosexual agenda on their own time.
And the situation is rapidly becoming worse.
The absolute corruption of the mainstream media has led to a dramatic swing in public opinion on “gay rights.” Since the media will simply not allow any dissenting voices to be heard, most people incorrectly believe that ten percent of people are homosexual; that “gays” were “born that way”; and that they are under constant threat of lethal violence from “bigoted homophobic haters.” There is only one way to fight back against these lies, and that is with one-on-one education.
In light of recent events, all Catholics should equip themselves to discuss and debate the issue of “gay rights,” since nothing else poses such a direct threat to our God-given freedoms. To begin with, we should understand that the “gay rights” movement really does have an agenda, and that it actually does demand rights that no other group of people possesses. This is why pro-family activists generally use the term “special rights.”
We must also be familiar with the scientific case against the redefinition of marriage. These topics have already been addressed in two recent series of articles in The Wanderer. If you would like these articles e-mailed to you, just contact me at bclowes@hli.org.
Over the next several months, we will cover the topics that are most basic to the debate over the homosexual agenda, proving both scientifically and theologically that this movement has no reason to exist — other than as a social engineering project that seeks to exert unlimited power over the rest of the nation.
To begin with, we must recognize that a homosexual orientation is not sinful in and of itself. Homosexual urges are similar to other human weaknesses in one way: They constitute an unnatural and unhealthy manifestation of our fallen natures, much like an excessive desire for drugs, money, food, or alcohol. We are not sure why the Lord gives people such crosses to bear, but we certainly grow in virtue if we confront our weaknesses and, through His grace, defeat them.
A same-sex attraction will only cause damage to a person’s soul (and body) if he acts on his impulses, in the same manner that an alcoholic does no damage to himself until he begins to drink in excess.
Homosexuals who are chaste and who successfully struggle against their urges through a lifetime of self-discipline carry a very heavy cross indeed, and we should admire them. So the mere fact that someone has a homosexual orientation does not mean that he or she is a “bad” person.
Why We Must Oppose the Special Rights Movement. At first glance, it may seem that Christians and other people of goodwill should support equality for homosexuals. After all, Jesus Christ taught us that we should recognize the equal dignity of all human beings.
However, when considering this point we cannot be superficial thinkers. Certainly all human beings deserve our love and respect simply because they are human beings, regardless of whether they are a law-abiding citizen or a thief, homosexual or “straight,” male or female. Homosexuals, simply because they are human beings, deserve the same authentic rights that everyone else possesses, including the right to vote, the right to free speech, the right to freedom of religion, the right to hold a job without unjust discrimination, and the right to live their lives in peace and free of violence.
When we examine the special rights agenda in detail, we find that it is not just agitating for equality, because homosexuals already possess equality under the laws of the United States. As we will see, the militant homosexual agenda is a clear threat because it demands a superior position in our society.
A minority of homosexuals — primarily the well-funded activists — demand rights that 1) violate the natural law (as in marriage and adoption rights), 2) interfere with or supersede the authentic rights of others (such as free speech), and 3) place the homosexual on a privileged plane not enjoyed by others (such as demanding that all who oppose them be fired from their jobs and be ostracized by society).
While we support authentic human rights for all, it is essential that we oppose the special rights movement. It not only represents a clear threat to public health and safety, it has proven that it will ruthlessly crush even those who oppose it in good faith.
In other words, it is an extreme danger to democracy and the free expression of ideas.
Ten Reasons to Act. There are ten specific and logical reasons why every authentic Catholic should oppose the homosexual special rights movement.
The first and most obvious is that it is a public health catastrophe. Those concerned with people’s health oppose activities that significantly and adversely affect the health of a large group of people, such as smoking, drunk driving, or illegal hard drug use. But very few have the courage to speak out against homosexual activity, which is the most efficient disease transmitter known to humanity.
Even if there were no moral implications whatever connected to homosexual activities, as the special rights agitators claim, we must continue to actively oppose the “gay agenda” because it is so terribly unhealthy.
Up until about 1995, sexually active “gays” and lesbians lost an average of 25 years from their lifespans. Because of the development of new drugs and treatments, this gap has been narrowed to about a decade. However, even if homosexuals eventually match the general lifespan, anyone who has to remain on a heavy regimen of powerful drugs for the rest of their lives cannot be considered healthy by any definition.
Many reasonable people oppose unhealthy activity for its own sake, regardless of moral arguments;
Alcoholics lose an average of ten years from their lives and are frequently a menace to other people’s lives and health (thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers every year in the USA alone).
Heavy smokers lose an average of 6.5 years from their lives.
Drug addicts lose an average of ten years from their lives and are frequently a menace to other people’s lives and health (thousands of people are killed or injured by the criminal activities of drug addicts every year).
Extremely overweight individuals lose an average of 6.5 years from their lives and frequently severely impact the lives of others (thousands of overweight workers die of obesity-related causes such as heart disease every year, leaving their loved ones destitute or scrambling to survive).
Reasonable people discourage heavy drinking, smoking, illegal drug use, and obesity because they drastically shorten people’s lifespans and are a menace to society and other individuals. Why do we not oppose the “gay” lifestyle, which shortens lifespans even more, and is a menace to the health of society and other people?
The second reason we must oppose the “special rights” agenda is that it is ruthlessly predatory. Hundreds of thousands of young boys have been sexually molested by homosexual Protestant ministers, by homosexual public school teachers, by homosexual Boy Scout leaders, and by homosexual Catholic priests. Leading homosexuals have confessed that child sexual molestation (“man-boy love”) is at the heart of “gay rights,” and major medical journals have published studies showing that homosexuals molest children at an incredibly high rate.
MThe next article will conclude discussing the reasons that all Catholics should oppose the special rights agenda.
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