and sustain queer theory.[1] Knowing these terms and the ways they are expressed is helpful in guiding the conversation with LGBTQ youth, and it is important for Catholic ministers to learn and feel comfortable using these terms.
The theological quandary regarding LGBTQ youth is directly enmeshed in the rhetoric surrounding the doctrinal and theoretical aspects of Catholic teachings on homosexuality. Part of the quandary is the obfuscation and misunderstanding of a pastoral plan with and for Catholic LGBTQ youth. The Catholic Church has not directly written anything concerning LGBTQ youth in its documents on youth ministry, which is a particularly peculiar phenomenon in this day and age. The Catholic Church has written a few specific documents (addressed below) on the "pastoral care" of persons of homosexual inclination, and although written with empathy and compassion, they lack "teeth" and conviction, and offer precious little by way of advocacy and pastoral care for LGBTQ youth.[2] Nevertheless, traditional Catholic teaching on homosexuality is warranted.
The Catholic Church teaching on the subject is clear. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC) states:
- All human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, known as imago Dei (no. 299);
- Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being (no. 2392);
- All human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, which upholds their innate integrity (nos. 2284-2317);
- Sexuality is a gift that is ordered toward conjugal love (no. 2360);
- Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of the body and the soul (nos. 2332, 2361);
- Every person should acknowledge and accept his or her sexual identity (no. 2333);
- Homosexuality refers to relations between men or women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction towards persons of the same sex (no. 2357); and
- All Christians are called to various forms of chastity and to remain chaste outside of matrimony (no. 2348).[3]
These points represent a rudimentary understanding of the church's teaching on human sexuality and homosexuality.
- ↑ Y. Taylor, S. Hines, and M. E. Casey, Theorizing Intersectionality and Sexuality (New York: Palgrave MacMillian, 2011), 3. "Queer theory attempts to avoid analysis of asymmetrical power relations with its focus on the destabilization of categories, often negating the privileges and (dis)advantages allowing and denying such inclinations." Queer theory has been on the rise in academic literature, especially in the fields of psychology, sociology, and feminism.
- ↑ Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1986); United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers (Washington, DC: USCCB Publishing, 1997); United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care (Washington, DC: USCCB Publishing, 2006). None of these documents is written to advocate a particular agenda or to endorse a homosexual lifestyle or way of life, which probably does not engender a warm reception from the homosexual community.
- ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), nos. 299, 2332, 2333, 2392, 2284–2317, 2360, 2361, 2357, 2348.
