Nice write up and I generally find that the write ups and podcasts help bring out the nuances of practicing our Faith and reaching out to others where they are.
However, I do have a comment on participating in Pride parades or displaying the rainbow flag. I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so given that the Pride movement involves aspects that do go against Catholic teachings and could give non- Catholics the wrong impression that Catholics support all aspects of the Pride movement.
Unlike supporting a political party, we do have a choice not to support the Pride movement as it is and show our love to those with LGBTQ inclinations in other ways.
Thank you for your comment. I'd like to speak into your concern.
While I think it's valid for a Catholic to not supporting any social/political movement or party that isn't fully in line with Church teaching, I do think that severely limits Catholic participation in society. I think it's better for Catholics to be involved in things that are less than the ideal in order to plant seeds for positive change and steer the movement in a direction more in line with justice and truth. I believe I'm echoing what the US bishops in their voting guide:
"The Catholic call to faithful citizenship affirms the importance of political participation and insists that public service is a worthy vocation. As citizens, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group. When necessary, our participation should help transform the party to which we belong; we should not let the party transform us in such a way that we neglect or deny fundamental moral truths or approve intrinsically evil acts. We are called to bring together our principles and our political choices, our values and our votes, to help build a civilization of truth and love."
Also, there are positive aspects of Pride like working for civil rights for LGBTQ folks, especially access to housing and employment, and decriminalizing homosexuality around the world. There was an interview a few years ago with Fr. Philip Bochanski, the executive director of Courage, who said, “Catholics should keep in mind that Pride events ‘were originally meant to draw attention to unjust discrimination and harsh and sometimes even violent treatment against people because of their sexual attractions and their understanding of their sexual identity.’”
So I think a Catholic can absolutely fly a Pride flag in solidarity with those fighting for civil rights for LGBTQ folks.
Those are my thoughts. I'd love to hear your perspective.
I can see your perspective and why we should show support for movements that intend to treat our LGBTQ brothers/sisters in Christ with love as we are all made in the image and likeness of God.
Please bear with me as I outline my thoughts.
Political participation, as addressed by the document highlighted, seems to pertain mainly to political participation in the governance/legislative space and appears to address how Catholics should vote given the inherent good/evil proposed by each party. The bishops' statement below seems to support voting for a party that promotes teachings against the Church if there is a sufficient good involved, which looks in line with supporting the Pride movement/flying a rainbow flag.
"When all candidates hold a position that promotes an intrinsically evil act, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods"
Choosing to vote for a party is, unfortunately, the only practical way of influencing the political sphere and legislation as Catholics (not voting or forming an independent party is unlikely to achieve the same outcome and is an extraordinary step). As such, I think that Catholics can legitimately vote after careful consideration of the weight of the issues supported by each party as there is no other practical choice (as it happens in my home country; I do not reside in the US).
Support for the Pride movement differs from the above, as there are feasible alternative ways to support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters outside of the Pride movement (although that would take more time/creativity) and without giving the impression that Catholics support the Pride movement as a whole ( When we fly the pride flag or take part in a Pride Parade, I think that we do give the impression that we support the entire movement's propositions rather than those we intend to support only. Which gives the appearance that Catholics support the pride movement's propositions as a whole vs. the Church's position. This causes scandal and confusion).
Given the above, my view is that Catholics should not be supporting the Pride movement or be flying a rainblow flag (which indicates such support); the comparison with political participation is not appropriate given the lack of a feasible alternative in the case of political participation.
I would also like to draw up a couple of examples that are in line with the above conclusion (though I think that you can find others that differ and agree with your thoughts on this matter):
1. Fr. Phillp Bochanski (quoted in the reply above), supports Bishop Tobin's advise (in an NCR article) that:
“Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June” because they “promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals” and “are especially harmful for children.”
NCR article also states: "Father Bochanski, of Courage International, told the Register that Bishop Tobin was “simply trying to state the teaching of the Church, but his statement was misinterpreted,” as “the very brief nature of a tweet doesn’t allow for a lot of nuance.”
Fr Bochanski also mentioned the following (NCR and CNA) :
NCR :" He added that members of the Courage apostolate attend pride parades, “not as participants and marchers; but they are there sometimes with a table or a booth along the parade route with signs and with literature and with rosaries or prayer books bringing the message to people that God loves all of his children, that he calls us to holiness and chastity.”
Father Bochanski also highlighted the potential for scandal present in pride events. “Because there are people coming from different perspectives and with different intentions, there’s evidence enough to say that in some places some people involved in these parades engage in behavior that is lewd or can give scandal, and especially for younger people...... As to the use of symbolism like rainbow flags, Father Bochanski cautioned that such symbols could easily be misinterpreted"
CNA: Bochanski added that he has some Catholic friends, many of whom are involved in the Courage apostolate, who attend Pride events -- though not as participants or marchers.
"They're there along the route offering words of encouragement about God's love and the inherent dignity of every person, talking about the virtue of chastity, offering people friendship and support and if they'd like to know more about what the Catholic Church teaches about same-sex attraction, offering them support if they want to understand what chastity means and how to embrace it."
Still, he said, while it may be good for some people to attend Pride events in order to witness to God's love and the teachings of the Church, it would be "foolish to ignore the reality" that sometimes, at some of these events, some people display "images that can be lewd and in some cases offensive and scandalous and especially for younger people."
"(Catholics) have to be very prudent and careful about that reality and not expose ourselves to situations we can't control that are offensive or obscene, or raise issues that a person is too young to understand," he noted.
Apologies for the long reply as I wanted to respond carefully given the nature of this issue.
Given the above and alternative available feasible options to support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters ( and not to mention, Pope St John Paul II's response to a "Gay Pride" festival in Rome in 2000), I would think that supporting the Pride movement (including just flying the rainbow flag only) would not be in line with how we should support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters as Catholics.
May the Holy Spirit guide all of us as we seek to follow the Father's will.
By the way, glad to see how God has worked in your life in your most recent post.
Nice write up and I generally find that the write ups and podcasts help bring out the nuances of practicing our Faith and reaching out to others where they are.
However, I do have a comment on participating in Pride parades or displaying the rainbow flag. I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so given that the Pride movement involves aspects that do go against Catholic teachings and could give non- Catholics the wrong impression that Catholics support all aspects of the Pride movement.
Unlike supporting a political party, we do have a choice not to support the Pride movement as it is and show our love to those with LGBTQ inclinations in other ways.
Thank you for your comment. I'd like to speak into your concern.
While I think it's valid for a Catholic to not supporting any social/political movement or party that isn't fully in line with Church teaching, I do think that severely limits Catholic participation in society. I think it's better for Catholics to be involved in things that are less than the ideal in order to plant seeds for positive change and steer the movement in a direction more in line with justice and truth. I believe I'm echoing what the US bishops in their voting guide:
"The Catholic call to faithful citizenship affirms the importance of political participation and insists that public service is a worthy vocation. As citizens, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group. When necessary, our participation should help transform the party to which we belong; we should not let the party transform us in such a way that we neglect or deny fundamental moral truths or approve intrinsically evil acts. We are called to bring together our principles and our political choices, our values and our votes, to help build a civilization of truth and love."
Also, there are positive aspects of Pride like working for civil rights for LGBTQ folks, especially access to housing and employment, and decriminalizing homosexuality around the world. There was an interview a few years ago with Fr. Philip Bochanski, the executive director of Courage, who said, “Catholics should keep in mind that Pride events ‘were originally meant to draw attention to unjust discrimination and harsh and sometimes even violent treatment against people because of their sexual attractions and their understanding of their sexual identity.’”
So I think a Catholic can absolutely fly a Pride flag in solidarity with those fighting for civil rights for LGBTQ folks.
Those are my thoughts. I'd love to hear your perspective.
I can see your perspective and why we should show support for movements that intend to treat our LGBTQ brothers/sisters in Christ with love as we are all made in the image and likeness of God.
Please bear with me as I outline my thoughts.
Political participation, as addressed by the document highlighted, seems to pertain mainly to political participation in the governance/legislative space and appears to address how Catholics should vote given the inherent good/evil proposed by each party. The bishops' statement below seems to support voting for a party that promotes teachings against the Church if there is a sufficient good involved, which looks in line with supporting the Pride movement/flying a rainbow flag.
"When all candidates hold a position that promotes an intrinsically evil act, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods"
Choosing to vote for a party is, unfortunately, the only practical way of influencing the political sphere and legislation as Catholics (not voting or forming an independent party is unlikely to achieve the same outcome and is an extraordinary step). As such, I think that Catholics can legitimately vote after careful consideration of the weight of the issues supported by each party as there is no other practical choice (as it happens in my home country; I do not reside in the US).
Support for the Pride movement differs from the above, as there are feasible alternative ways to support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters outside of the Pride movement (although that would take more time/creativity) and without giving the impression that Catholics support the Pride movement as a whole ( When we fly the pride flag or take part in a Pride Parade, I think that we do give the impression that we support the entire movement's propositions rather than those we intend to support only. Which gives the appearance that Catholics support the pride movement's propositions as a whole vs. the Church's position. This causes scandal and confusion).
Given the above, my view is that Catholics should not be supporting the Pride movement or be flying a rainblow flag (which indicates such support); the comparison with political participation is not appropriate given the lack of a feasible alternative in the case of political participation.
I would also like to draw up a couple of examples that are in line with the above conclusion (though I think that you can find others that differ and agree with your thoughts on this matter):
1. Fr. Phillp Bochanski (quoted in the reply above), supports Bishop Tobin's advise (in an NCR article) that:
“Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June” because they “promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals” and “are especially harmful for children.”
NCR article also states: "Father Bochanski, of Courage International, told the Register that Bishop Tobin was “simply trying to state the teaching of the Church, but his statement was misinterpreted,” as “the very brief nature of a tweet doesn’t allow for a lot of nuance.”
Fr Bochanski also mentioned the following (NCR and CNA) :
NCR :" He added that members of the Courage apostolate attend pride parades, “not as participants and marchers; but they are there sometimes with a table or a booth along the parade route with signs and with literature and with rosaries or prayer books bringing the message to people that God loves all of his children, that he calls us to holiness and chastity.”
Father Bochanski also highlighted the potential for scandal present in pride events. “Because there are people coming from different perspectives and with different intentions, there’s evidence enough to say that in some places some people involved in these parades engage in behavior that is lewd or can give scandal, and especially for younger people...... As to the use of symbolism like rainbow flags, Father Bochanski cautioned that such symbols could easily be misinterpreted"
CNA: Bochanski added that he has some Catholic friends, many of whom are involved in the Courage apostolate, who attend Pride events -- though not as participants or marchers.
"They're there along the route offering words of encouragement about God's love and the inherent dignity of every person, talking about the virtue of chastity, offering people friendship and support and if they'd like to know more about what the Catholic Church teaches about same-sex attraction, offering them support if they want to understand what chastity means and how to embrace it."
Still, he said, while it may be good for some people to attend Pride events in order to witness to God's love and the teachings of the Church, it would be "foolish to ignore the reality" that sometimes, at some of these events, some people display "images that can be lewd and in some cases offensive and scandalous and especially for younger people."
"(Catholics) have to be very prudent and careful about that reality and not expose ourselves to situations we can't control that are offensive or obscene, or raise issues that a person is too young to understand," he noted.
Apologies for the long reply as I wanted to respond carefully given the nature of this issue.
Given the above and alternative available feasible options to support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters ( and not to mention, Pope St John Paul II's response to a "Gay Pride" festival in Rome in 2000), I would think that supporting the Pride movement (including just flying the rainbow flag only) would not be in line with how we should support our LGBTQ brothers/sisters as Catholics.
May the Holy Spirit guide all of us as we seek to follow the Father's will.
By the way, glad to see how God has worked in your life in your most recent post.