Is it time for a pastoral response to homosexuality in South Africa?

I am appalled to read, yet again, in our newspapers about the “corrective” rape and murder of a thirteen year old girl because she was a lesbian. “Corrective rape” is the rape of lesbians which intends “correcting” them – i.e. making them heterosexual. This idea is bizarre, it is as ludicrous as “sleeping with a virgin to cure HIV”. This is the second time in as many months that this has taken place in our country. Last month a twenty-four year old was stoned to death on Gauteng’s East Rand because she was lesbian. A few years ago the country was shocked at the widespread xenophobic attacks which left many people dead; we ought to be shocked again, and disgusted, at the current wave of homophobic attacks. Committed to the dignity of persons and absolute right to life we, the Church, cannot but condemn these barbaric killings. However, we might also ask what responsibility religion (including Christianity) has in creating an underlying intolerance of homosexual people which can contribute to such appalling actions.

Fundamentalist Christianity is pretty intolerant and full of contradictions which, sadly, often taint the whole Christian Church. Some fundamentalists, for example, while insisting that abortion murders the unborn and is sinful have themselves murdered doctors who allegedly performed abortions! (Scott Roeder shot dead Dr George Tiller in May 2009 in Kansas – he claimed he was doing justice?!)  Something doesn’t add up in the very narrow and overly simplistic worldview which underlies such fundamentalism. And it is worrying how, in the world today, fundamentalism and extremism seem to be growing phenomena. This is perhaps more obvious in religion and the Catholic Church is not immune to this trend.

In my role as a pastor I have often been confronted with fundamentalist views and interpretations of the Scriptures and Church teachings. A whole argument is sometimes built around a single phrase or line – be that in Sacred Scripture or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is interesting to note that, just last week, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the Church to read the Scriptures as a whole and be careful about taking single phrases or expressions as the be all and end all. Ignorance of what the Church really teaches is a serious disability and I fear that Christian (and Catholic) fundamentalist approaches (with a good dollop of ignorance) can contribute to the kind of homophobic attacks we have witnessed in this country. If we are honest with ourselves, it is not difficult to make the connection between the two. This does not imply a rejection of Church doctrine. It does however mean that we do exactly what Pope Benedict himself encouraged the Church to do earlier this year when we spoke about the 16^th Century Jesuit Saint Peter Canisius: “harmoniously combine fidelity to dogmatic principles with the respect due to each person”.  The Holy Father, revealing the heart of a true shepherd says, “In a historical period marked by strong confessional tensions, he avoided — and this is something extraordinary — he avoided giving into disrespect and angry rhetoric.” Much of the talk about homosexuality in recent times has brought about what St Peter Canisius avoided.

The question: How do we, as a Church, best respond pastorally to homosexual people in the South African context? A number of unhelpful (and intolerant) exchanges have already taken place in the press and on this website. It is saddening to see some of the bigoted attitudes that prevail. More concerning, however, is the subtly negative attitude which emerges about the dignity of persons: the way we (Christians) speak about homosexual persons often reduces them to objects that need to be studied, convinced, converted or, at worst, condemned. We violate our own dignity when we violate that of others and we are, therefore, out of sync with a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church: upholding the dignity of every person.

In 1979 the far-seeing Catholic Social Welfare Commission in Britain (under the watchful eye of Cardinal Basil Hume) recognised the need to address, in the Church, the issue of the pastoral care of homosexual people. The Commission said that homosexual people as a group had suffered more than its share of oppression and contempt. “…the homosexual community has a particular claim on the concern of the Church”. In 1997 the US Catholic Bishops Committee on Marriage and Family issued a document entitled “Always our Children”. This was a pastoral message to the parents of homosexual children. In this the Bishops say “Welcome homosexual persons into the faith community, and seek out those on the margins. Avoid stereotyping and condemning. Strive first to listen. Learn more about homosexuality and church teaching so your preaching, teaching and counseling will be informed and effective”.  In November 2006 the US Bishops issued “Ministry to persons with homosexual inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care”. In this document the Bishop’s say we need “A welcoming stance of Christian love by leadership and the community as a whole…”

Much has been done for marginalised and vulnerable groups, like HIV/AIDS, in the South African Church. Others, like gay people, have not had the same care. I was reflecting recently after a meeting with students how far we have come in awareness and talking about HIV/AIDS. Two HIV positive people came to address the students and answered any questions they had. They spoke openly about their lives and the journey they had traveled. I could not imagine two people telling a group of strangers about their HIV status (and how they got there) ten years ago. It was taboo, people lived in fear and revealing your positive HIV status was simply not an option. Things have and are changing.  I cannot but help wonder if it is because of the clear and strong statements (made by amongst others the Church) about HIV and the work that is being done that have brought about a significant shift in awareness and greater openness in talking about HIV.  Some in the Church claimed HIV was a punishment from God, a position which reared its head a number of times and was rejected by our own Bishops. In some places HIV positive people were banished from families and/or attacked. We spoke out against this. What’s changed? Parishes are now involved in HIV ministry; the Church has an extensive network of care and is involved in education which is, I believe, changing minds and hearts. It’s a ministry we can be proud of. Granted, we have not arrived and still have much to do but much is already being done and a shift has taken place.

The homophobic attacks which have lead to the gruesome deaths of yet more people in our country are an occasion and challenge for us, the Church, to purge ourselves of any attitudes that lead to the violation of the human dignity of homosexual persons. It is an occasion for us to educate ourselves and reject fundamentalism and to embark upon reaching out to those who, because they are homosexual, live in fear on the fringes of society and of the Church. It is a challenging moment in which we can dare to break the silence and taboo around the issue of homosexuality. It is a moment for us, again, to speak out for those who have been marginalised and so be signs of Good News to those who, for the most part, are confronted with bad news.  It is a chance for us to call for justice. It is an opportunity for us to respond in small Christian communities and parishes.

The Church, at her best, has the capacity to change minds and hearts and in so doing truly be a sign of hope and joy. Are we willing to bring hope and joy to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters by responding as the Good Shepherd would?