Pope Francis’s recent encyclical, Laudato Si’, chastises those who deny scientific findings instead of allowing their ethics to be influenced by the scientific consensus.
The temptation for us Christians to engage in scientific denialism is strong, because it often allows us to remain securely in a moral comfort zone. But scientific denialism whether it relates to cosmology, evolution, ecology or human sexuality seriously undermines our credibility as messengers of Jesus.
Scientific evidence has accumulated over the last 50 years suggesting that homosexuality is determined at the so-called epigenetic level.
In layman’s terms, this means that homosexuality appears to be due to unpredictable chemical interactions that take place in utero and influence how cells reproduce after a foetus’s inherited genetic structure is in place. A recent survey of evidence by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) is available at www.assaf.co.za.
Surely these findings must profoundly influence how we think and talk about LGBT people (not least, the many gay teenagers who suffer excruciating feelings of rejection).
Assertions that the Church has always taught or the Bible says – accompanied by facile endorsements of the Catechism to treat gays with respect are often in danger of sounding like the apartheid government enjoining us to treat blacks with respect.
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