Living the Truth in Love: Pastoral Approaches to Same Sex Attraction

Name: Living the Truth in Love: Pastoral Approaches to Same Sex Attraction
Author: Janet E. Smith
ISBN: 9781621640608

by Janet E. Smith

Rating

Language EN

ISBN: 9781621640608

Description

Living the Truth in Love grew out of the desire to provide answers to the questions posed in the Lineamenta for the Synod on Marriage of 2015 in Rome: “How can the Christian community give pastoral attention to families ... Living the Truth in Love grew out of the desire to provide answers to the questions posed in the Lineamenta for the Synod on Marriage of 2015 in Rome: “How can the Christian community give pastoral attention to families with persons with homosexual tendencies? What are the responses that, in light of cultural sensitivities, are considered to be most appropriate? While avoiding any unjust discrimination, how can such persons receive pastoral care in these situations in light of the Gospel? How can God’s will be proposed to them in their situation?” (40) People who want to be instruments of Christ’s love to those who experience same sex attraction—among them our children, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, parents, friends, and coworkers—seek guidance on how best to do so. We need to listen to the stories of those who experience SSA and the stories of those who have accompanied them on their journeys. We also need to ground our responses in a genuine Christian understanding of the human person and of human sexuality. More and more of those who have left the gay life style are telling their stories, stories that disclose that engaging in homosexual sexual acts has not delivered the happiness sought. Fortunately, for many there is a second chapter to the story, a beautiful story of falling in love with Jesus and his Church, of finding an ennobling understanding of the truth of the human person. Their journeys and transformations have often been facilitated by family members and friends, counselors and spiritual directors, who have been affirming and accepting of those who experience same-sex attraction without approving all their choices. Those who courageously face the realities of their lives and resolutely make the changes necessary—a process generally involving a significant amount of suffering, prayer, commitment to the sacraments, and a refashioning of relationships— eventually find peace, not misery, in accepting the Church’s teaching on sexuality. In their

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