So yeah I'm Catholic in this wide old secular world and as someone said to me today "you're living in the hardest time to be a catholic teen in history" he was and is correct. I'm sometimes afraid to say I am Catholic because of what people will think or say I mean I have had people stop talking to me when I've said I go to church because they think I'm homophobic or some rubbish like that. Well no, some of my best friends are gay/bisexual/ transexual but they're still my friends because it's the person they are not their sexuality that I care about it's their actions and words and the way they treat people that determines whether or not I like them not whether or not they like people of the same sex or feel trapped inside the wrong body.
The greatest teaching I've been given by my faith is to love, that simple thing to love. How can anyone try to tell me that that's wrong and makes me prejudice? If anything I would be denying my faith to be prejudice towards someone because it would be to deny them love. I am by no means perfect, far from it actually and of course I judge people but I'm trying to see with clear eyes and think with a clear mind every day.
So love is the most important thing in the world and of course I'm delighted if a man and a man or a woman and a woman love eachother so much they're willing to commit the rest of their lives to each other I have absolutely no issues and fully support them because they're displaying love, living out a life filled with love. The issue that arises with same sex marriage is not that the church doesn't want same sex couples to get married it's that the definition of marriage in the Bible is that marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family. We do not have the power to change the word of God asking us to do so is to deny us our religion but I suppose that doesn't count as denying a human right or as any kind of prejudice because we're only Catholics after all. Doesn't quite add up for me.
If someone had stopped to ask the Catholic Church for an alternative to marriage, because by definition a priest would be unable to carry it out for a same sex couple not because they are prejudice, they might have realised that a blessing could have been offered because what is Marriage if not a blessing? I can not stress enough that the Catholic Church is based upon teachings of love and so works to celebrate acts of love, a blessing would have been perfect but no-one stopped to ask or discuss. My faith is being discarded because people refuse to believe that it can solve any problems in the world as it's out-dated and close minded. I wish people would just take time to understand a little more before jumping the gun and creating opinions and beliefs for us.
Now I know you could quote dozens of passages at me
Lev 20:13 "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death." 1 Cor 6:9 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals" 1 Tim 1:9-10 "realizing the fact that (civil) law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers"
but I've done it for you already. I'd like to point out that these passages are mostly from the Old Testament and those that are from the New Testament are not related to Jesus' teachings and if you'd ever believe it as Catholics, as Christians it's Jesus' teachings we aim to follow. Jesus didn't say homosexuality was wrong he didn't mention homosexuality, I follow Jesus' teachings how do you expect me to say I'm against it because of my religion when it's His teachings I follow? He taught love, homosexuality is love. There you have it.
I apologise if I've offended anyone but I haven't tried to, I just want to offer some scope because the media is quick to say things on our behalf but I haven't actually heard much from a real life Catholic about a lot of things. I wish people had the time to sit down and ask me questions, I wish people might let me show them I might not be everything they think I am, I wish people would stop and think that they might be condemning me for something I haven't done. I'll pray for it, take some time out of the day and maybe one day the world will be ready to listen.
God Bless
A Catholic Teen
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