Notre Dame to Gays: Live a Life of Celibacy

The University of Notre Dame - to some the flagship Catholic University in America -  holds itself out as a first class university of higher learning and advanced education.  But when it comes to issues of sexual orientation, the University is sadly on the same level as ignorant nomadic herders from the Bronze Age or at best the early Iron Age.  Why?  Because this supposed bastion of education subscribes to the anti-same sex physical intimacy batshitery of Leviticus which was based on (i) the ignorant belief that a male's sperm was limited in quantity and had to be saved for procreation and (ii) hostility towards the goddess worship of the Canaanites which involved ritual homosexuality.  Twenty-six hundred years or more after ignorant scribes compiled Leviticus, Notre Dame is counseling gays that they need to live a life of celibacy rather than embrace the sexuality that their creator gave them.  All so that neurotic, sexually obsessed, bitter old men in dresses in Rome and the mentally/emotionally challenged in the Catholic laity can feel superior and good about themselves.  Religion News Service reports on the idiocy and homophobia transpiring at Notre Dame.  Here are highlights:

Last weekend, The Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame hosted Gay In Christ, a day and a half colloquium intended to offer “an appropriate pastoral strategy for Catholic parishes” to “self-identified gay members.” The academic conference featured straight, gay, and lesbian speakers presenting on various topics concerning same-sex attraction and gender identity. The celibate gay and lesbian presenters were affiliated with Spiritual Friendship, a blog space started by Ron Belgau and Wesley Hill to discuss Christ-centered responses to LGBT Christians while remaining true to their beliefs in a traditional Christian sexual ethic

The presenters emphasized a significant shift in the Catholic framing of LGBT individuals. In the past, Catholicism has framed homosexuality in terms of “same-sex attractions”—refusing to acknowledge a gay identity. The queer presenters shifted that language by identifying as gay and lesbian while still upholding a traditional Catholic sexual ethic. A nod to more accurate verbiage is major progress considering that the only narrative the Catholic Church has officially sponsored has been of those who adhere to “SSA” or “same-sex attracted” language

Some tension arose when a member of Courage—who seemed to only attend the very first night specifically for Ron Belgau’s presentation—vocally pushed back at the idea that Courage’s twelve step program to help overcome homosexual desires was not effective or even “Catholic enough.” The group encourages members to avoid identifying as gay or lesbian, which is perhaps why they weren’t involved in the conference. Yet the shift in language was necessary in order for the conference to discuss LGBT people as more than just sexual acts

A concern was vocalized towards the end of the conference, which really shows how Christianity as a whole is having the LGBT conversation– that we were reducing LGBT people to sex. While the conference presenters stressed the importance of seeing LGBT people as individuals with experiences with gifts they could offer the church, the statements always seemed to come with a catch — “as long as they don’t have sex.” 

It's sad that LGBT individuals (especially the seemingly self-loathing presenters) continue to cling to the religious brainwashing of their youth.  It's even more sad that a supposed top university clings to ignorance and homophobia rather than admit that the Bible to which it clings is just flat out wrong on many issues, gay sex among them.  Again, my advice to gays who were raised Catholic: walk away and find a new church!