by the Way . . .

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at their semiannual meeting Tuesday, passed several measures supportive of gay men and lesbians. First, they welcome gays into the Church. Second, they affirm that “homosexual inclinations”, while inherently disordered, are not sinful. Gay sexual activity is, of course, still sinful, as is most sex, including heterosexual fooling around within marriage if, as universally practiced, it involves artificial contraception. It should be noted that the Bishops, by casting the same stone at two birds, gay and ungay sex, refused to discriminate against homosexuals. The Archbishop of Kansas City said that neither type of sinner should receive Holy Communion.

The document stated that artificial contraception introduces a “false note” into a marriage. The chairman of the doctrine committee said that the committee did not consult with any gay men or lesbians about the document (at least as far as they knew), or with any married people, gay or ungay.

Neither sinner group seemed to appreciate the gesture. The president of Dignity USA, an advocacy group for gay Catholics, said “At some point the bishops have to realize that they speak in willful ignorance about what homosexuality is and about sexuality in general”. There was no challenge to the apparent over-statement. On the married front, the president of Catholics for a Free Choice noted that “almost no one is looking to the bishops for guidance on contraception, sexuality and law making.”