The explanations in the post-Boston Globe early 2000s came fast and furious. We were quick to quote statistics based on pre- and post-pubescent minors. The problem was clear, wasn’t it? “It’s a homosexuality problem.” As a self-righteously devout teenager, I was quick to say it too, and with gusto. After all, didn’t we need an explanation for a world that would call our entire Church corrupt? As Caiaphas said, “it is better for you that one man should die instead of the peopl

This blog was originally posted at Courage International's Truth and Love website. Explaining the Church’s teaching on same-sex desires in today’s world isn’t easy. We feel hesitation, embarrassment…shame. Living the Church’s teaching on same sex desires poses it’s own challenges. Internal confusion, hiding…shame. June’s Pride Month offers a compelling alternative for many. Why not simply reject a “repressive” Christian sexual ethic? Why not shrug off shame once and for

This blog was originally posted at Courage International's Truth and Love website. In my undergraduate ministry classes, we heard a common theme. The line was repeated over and over again in every class from all our professors. I even heard a rumor that someone had embroidered it onto a pillow as a gift for another person in the major. I tried searching for something similar on Etsy for this blog, but no cigar. It’s a line from Pope Paul VI in his 1975 exhortation On Evangeli

This blog was originally posted on Courage International's Truth and Love website. It’s a complicated world. A parent in your child’s school leaves her husband for a neighbor woman. The most involved parents in the Rosary Apostolate have a son who now identifies as female. Your cousin, niece, nephew, uncle, son’s best friend is out and proud and at your kitchen table. We’ve all encountered somebody in our homes, neighborhoods, churches, or workplaces who has shared their sexu

The following letter was originally posted by The Catholic Woman. Dear Sister, I’ve been attracted to women since I was 15. Men were a little earlier. Everybody’s got something, eh? I was raised in the Catholic Church, encountered Christ in the Eucharist as a teen, and have chosen formation and community ever since. On my last birthday, more than 1/2 my life had been spent intentionally following Jesus. Next birthday, 1/2 my life has included attraction to women. Sister

“Brothers and sisters: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels...” It's the feast of St. James and today’s first reading is getting real. We may be children of God, but our lives are fragile things. It’s been a surreal couple of months for us at Eden Invitation, sharing some of the most vulnerable pieces of our lives and hearing hidden things from strangers we didn’t know before. That said, there’s a tension we live in, you and I. For most of us, even our parents’ generation