I'm Gay, but I'm Not Switching to a Church That Supports Gay Marriage
With so many options for gay Christians, why stick with the Catholic church?
The article is about Eve Tushnet, the author, consciously choosing to stay within the Catholic Church, even though she is gay. Her insight goes beyond the immediate topic of being gay. She presents her reasoning in such a way that its effect is universal. For example, I am a single heterosexual and I am faced with the same teachings on living the celibate life, as gay folks are faced with - and, like Eve Tushnet, the author of the article above, I am sticking around. Not only am I sticking around, I am joyful to be living by the Church's Teachings.
A lot of folks are sticking around even though they are faced with tough situations:
- Folks who cannot have children naturally and are tempted by In Vitro Fertilization.
- Folks who are tired from being a parent and want to get vasectomies or use artificial contraception.
- Folks who are overwhelmed by an unexpected crisis pregnancy and are tempted to abort the baby.
All of these folks choose to remain Catholic and use their Faith to overcome their temptations, instead of abandoning the Faith to avoid them. That is what love and charity are about. That is what it means to live the spiritual life. That is what Eve Tushnet is role modeling for the rest of us.
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images - http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-stay-catholic-7/
http://www.stjoeparish.org/youth/YEvents.html
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I understand that an Australian couple might miss their daughter who died, but no pain justifies them aborting their male twins because they would rather have a girl. And now they want to use sex selection with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to get a girl. My heart is heavy.
Let's hope they are denied sex selection in Australia, and that if they come to the US for it, they don't get it here either. And let's pray and hope that they have a conversion and realize the horror of their actions.
The full article is here.
Dear God, have mercy on us. We are playing with fire when we separate the procreative aspect of marriage from the unitive aspect.
Kathleen
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image - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7534720.stm
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When a couple has trouble conceiving a child, the most common thing they and their doctors turn to is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Unfortunately IVF goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church, so Catholics do not have that as an option. See this previous blog entry.
In an attempt to help and alleviate the pain most infertile couples experience, some Catholic doctors are working hard to provide acceptable alternatives to IVF, and the Knights of Columbus want people to know about it. Here are some things they share in a recent article regarding Good Medicine:
"Thankfully, there are medical options that respect human dignity when facing the problem of infertility. Throughout North America, there are physicians whose way of viewing married couples and the gift of new life causes them to practice medicine differently. These doctors are providing successful fertility care that is offering real hope and healing."
"Dr. Anne Mielnik, the director and co-founder of Gianna, a Catholic health care center in New York City, said, 'In the area of attacks on human life, such as contraception and abortion, it is doctors who are providing these things. I believe it is doctors who must provide effective and fruitful alternatives.'"
"The couples who see doctors such as Mielnik and Vera are grateful for their holistic, pro-life perspective. Rather than simply applying a technological solution to the problem of infertility, the care provided by clinics such as Gianna attempts to be a truly human, compassionate response. This includes accompanying the couple in their suffering and allowing them to express their faith in the context of treatment. Furthermore, patient care does not end if a couple cannot conceive. In this situation, doctors help the couple transition to mourning and grief."
Full article -
Catholic physicians work to provide life-giving alternatives to reproductive technologies
Please pass it on. Thanks, Kathleen
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image - http://baystatehealth.com/Baystate/Main+Nav/Clinical+Services/Departments/Obstetrics+%26+Gynecology/Reproductive+Medicine,+Fertility+and+Surgery/Infertility
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At the end of my November 5 entry, Nobel Prize For Medicine Went To Robert G. Edwards For IVF, I said I would talk about the Church's teachings regarding In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in a future entry. This is that entry.
Basically, IVF goes against the Church's beliefs and teachings about life, marriage, the conjugal act and the procreation of children. Here are some excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
1652 "By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory."
Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves. God himself said: "It is not good that man should be alone," and "from the beginning [he] made them male and female"; wishing to associate them in a special way in his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: "Be fruitful and multiply." Hence, true married love and the whole structure of family life which results from it, without diminishment of the other ends of marriage, are directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and enrich his family from day to day.
The Church is clearly pro-children, but it is not pro-anything-goes when it comes to conceiving them. See the next excerpt.
2377 Techniques involving only the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children." "Under the moral aspect procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouses' union . . . . Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person."
Because the Church believes what She believes about life, marriage, the conjugal act and the procreation of children, it makes sense that She would be opposed to IVF, which is a process that also includes letting some embryos die or killing them directly.
Many people, including many many Catholics, are not aware of these teachings. Unfortunately, it is a topic that is hardly preached about on Sundays and I have never seen literature about the Church's stance on this readily available. Adult catechesis programs would help, but they are non-existent in this area, at least that I know of.
Of course, in the secular world, this is another example of the Catholic Church being behind the times, but I think of it as another example of the Catholic Church being wise beyond her years. This somewhat long and technical document reflects that - DONUM VITAE
For more general information, see these informative articles:
1) The moral status of in vitro fertilization (IVF) Biology and method by John B. Shea, MD FRCP, 2003, Catholic Insight. The information is still current.
2) IVF and the Catholic Couple by Sheila Diamond
3) IVF and Catholic Teaching by Rev. Fr Clement Mary, C.SS.R.
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image - http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2008/12/12/vatican-reaffirms-stand-against-ivf-designer-babies-cloning/
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IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilization, as in "test tube baby", although it's actually done in something more like a petri dish. In IVF, the egg and sperm (actually several eggs with several sperms) are manually combined in a laboratory dish. When the combination succeeds, the embryo is then transferred and manually placed in a woman's uterus. If the transfer is successful, the women becomes pregnant, and if the pregnancy goes well, a baby is eventually born.
It sounds straight forward, but anyone who has been through it will tell you it is an arduous process, involving the woman taking fertility medication, her eggs being montiored and collected - apart from the man, the man being sexually stimulated so he can ejaculate and his sperm can be collected - apart from the woman, and then the attempt to combine the eggs and sperm in a laboratory dish. Ultrasounds and blood tests are involved. Timing is critical. When one attempt fails, the couple has to try again, and usually again, and again.
The process sounds lonely and sterile to me, but compared to being childless for the rest of one's life, I can see that IVF would be attractive to many couples, including Catholic couples. The problem is that IVF goes against natural law and Catholic teachings on procreation. It is considered to be a grave evil and not a viable solution to the problem of infertility.
So not everyone is happy about the Nobel Prize for Medicine going to Robert G. Edwards for IVF back in October. I will discuss the Church's teachings in one of my next entries. Please stay tuned.
Peace,
Kathleen
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image - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/infertility/ivf.html
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