It was a pleasure to hear and to meet David Morrison at Boston College Monday night. He spoke in a two-man panel discussion with Andrew Sullivan on "Homosexuality in a Catholic Context: What Has Been Said About It? What Else Can Be Said?"
Homosexuality has probably been much talked about at BC lately, given that the school has recently given approval to a "gay-straight alliance" student group. Assurances that the group won't reject Catholic teaching on chastity don't give much confidence to skeptics, and neutrality on this subject is simply not enough.
Morrison did an able job of setting the Church's teaching in a larger context, or rather two larger contexts. The teaching on homosexuality has to be seen as part of the larger picture of sexual ethics, and the decision to pursue chastity has to be seen as part of Christian discipleship. The story of his conversion to Christ and to the Catholic Church drew the attention of the audience, and his personal testimony of how he chose chastity out of love for his partner -- and maintained their close and supportive relationship afterward -- stood in contrast to Sullivan's claim that the Church was commanding gays into a despairing, lonely life.
Early in his talk, Morrison read a quote from the Catechism that could well serve as the banner of Courage:
Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.Who else is out there telling the world that people who experience same-sex attraction can, with the help of grace, seek to become saints?
