by CCSJ chair, Leela Ramdeen
God imprinted a moral order in our hearts and it is this order that should influence how we live our lives. In today’s Gospel (John 15:26-27; 16:12-15), Jesus tells His Disciples that “when the Spirit of truth comes” (the Holy Spirit) he will lead them “to the complete truth.” Sadly, in today’s world moral relativism is rampant; people think they can “make up” their own “truth”. As Edward Sri says:
“According to a relativist, all truth claims are subjective, merely reflecting one’s own feelings, opinions, or desires. A relativist might say, “You can have ‘your truth’ and I can have ‘my truth’, but there is no ‘the truth’ to which we are all accountable… Morality is not up for grabs. And in striving for excellence we must always seek to embody the truth, which above all reflects Jesus Christ – who is the same today, yesterday, and forever.”
We need to stand up for what we believe i.e. that moral truth is objective and not relative to the whims and fancies of the individual. Recently the Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development stated categorically that she personally supports abortion and what she terms the “human rights” of those who are “lesbian, homosexual, bi-sexual, or transgender”. Note, God created “male” and “female”. We cannot wait until Cabinet makes a pronouncement on these issues. The time to make our voices heard is now.
Two of the fundamental principles of Catholic Social teaching are the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person. Our Catechism tells us: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation.” (2270, 2273).
We must never give up in our efforts to protect innocent human life in the womb. If we do, then the culture of death, which is so widespread, will continue to spread across our world. The Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice” (God is Love #28, Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, 2005). If our consciences are well-formed, we will speak out for the unborn and for pregnant women who need support.
As Catholics, we must love everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. And we must love those women who have had abortions, as well as those who have had their babies and are struggling. Let us work with our own Government to develop positive alternatives to abortion and lend support to the many organisations such as Emmanuel Community, Mary Care Centre, Living Water Community, Eternal Light Community to address the needs of pregnant mothers who need support.
The Church views homosexual acts as being “contrary to the natural law… Homosexual persons are called to chastity” (Catechism 2357, 2358). Those with this sexual orientation “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided”. In 2001 the Antilles Episcopal Conference issued a statement on this issue. Inter alia, the Bishops said: “The moral/pastoral dimensions of Catholic teaching on homosexuality are rooted in the biblical/doctrinal teaching of the Church. The Church has always made a clear distinction between sexual orientation and sexual behaviour. Sexual orientation is morally indifferent while homosexual behaviour is immoral, objectively speaking. Homosexual acts are contrary to the creative plan of God about the complementarity of the sexes or to the openness to life intrinsic to sexual relations within marriage.
“While the Church is obliged to preach the truth, it is also obliged by the love of Christ to provide quality pastoral care to persons who have a homosexual orientation and who may be struggling with homosexual behaviour. The Church understands the intensity of the struggle many homosexual people experience and also the psychology of compulsive behaviour, which, at times, is applicable in individual cases. Therefore, the Church encourages prayer, a full sacramental life, offers spiritual direction, counselling and support to homosexual persons as they journey through life. It educates parents who also struggle when they discover one or more of their children are homosexual.”
Blessed John Paul II urged us to build a culture of life (The Gospel of Life, 1995). We must have a consistent ethic of life and promote all life, in all circumstances. We may not be popular in the stance we take, but we are called to preach the Word in and out of season.
