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I'm here at the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Listen, I do a lot of Questions and Answers
with people and very often young people ask me, Why does the Church hate Gay people? Guys
listen, the Church's teaching about *** ethics and specifically about homosexuality
does not come from bigotry or discrimination the Church's teaching in this area comes from
two places, Divine Law and Natural Law. Divine Law is the stuff that we see written in the
Bible. Natural Law is the stuff that we see written in our hearts and in human nature
and in the nature of things and we read it. OK listen, the church didn't make up this
whole teaching about Gay marriage and Same Sex activity, the Church discovered that , not
just the church but people all around the world throughout history listen you go to
the most distant jungles in Brazil and you see that people have figured out marriage.
OK? It's not something that they just thought about and just sat around and said "hey let's
make up this institution." It's written in the nature of things. OK so what do I mean
by that? It's written in the very nature of procreating bodies that a man and woman belong
with each other-that a man gives his body to a woman, a woman gives her body to a man,
that a baby comes out of that. Because that human life demands so much responsibility,
that man has to get in front of the whole tribe, or village, or town, or whatever it
is and make a promise a commitment to that person to care for that baby and not just
leave this woman with that baby. So the institution of marriage comes from the very nature of
our procreating bodies. It's written in nature. So the Church recognizes what's written in
nature and what's written in the bible. That doesn't come from a place of discrimination.
Guys, that teaching isn't discriminatory at all because it applies to everyone evenly
across the board, including me as a married man. Look, if I wanted to cheat on my wife
I wouldn't look to the church's teaching and say well, the Church is discriminating against
me because it won't let me do that. All right? No. Does this teaching mean that Church is
inviting all people with Same Sex attraction to a life of emptiness and despair and darkness.
No! We're not inviting them to a loveless life. Listen, most of the Saints in the Catholic
Church were celibate, they weren't having sex. Our bishops priests celibate, Jesus Christ
a celibate. OK, the invitation to follow Jesus, the invitation to follow divine and natural
law in this area for the person of Same sex attraction is not an invitation to a life
of emptiness. See, fulfillment isn't achieved in life by having sex. Whether you're homosexual
or heterosexual. Fulfillment in life is achieved by living a life of love, following the laws
of God laying down our life in love for other people. And for people who struggle with Same
Sex Attraction: I have some good friends who are Catholics who are living out the Church's
teaching in this area. They are not empty. They are laying down their life in love and
service for other people. They have deep friendships, deep lives of service. But for those people,
yeah it's a heavy cross to bear and it's not easy at all and the church teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church says
So we gotta stand up for all people, regardless of *** orientation, or anything at all in this area.
And finally I want to say this, guys.
*** orientation doesn't define a person at their core. Some young people think, well gosh, I feel this way. Is that who I am?
First of all for a lot of teenagers they might feel that way in a passing way, but it will often
go away when they get older. But for those people who it doesn't go away for, that doesn't
define you at your core. Mother Teresa of Calcutta started the first AIDS hospice in
New York City. And people referred to the people she cared for as homosexuals. And I'm
told once she told them "Don't talk about them that way, don't label them that way.
They're not homosexuals they are children of God." See at our core we're not defined
by our *** orientation. People are defined, at their core as children of their heavenly father.