Can Catholics love thy LGBTQ neighbour?

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a Catholic girls’ school run by the Salesian Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Washington, D.C., recently announced that its alumnae magazine will now include notices of former students’ same-sex unions.

The Mother Superior wrote,

"As a professed Sister of the Visitation for 67 years, I have devoted my life in service to the Catholic Church. The Church is clear in its teaching on same-sex marriages. But, it is equally clear in its teaching that we are all children of God, that we each have dignity and are worthy of respect and love.

As I have prayed over this contradiction, I keep returning to this choice: we can focus on Church teaching on gay marriage or we can focus on Church teaching on the Gospel commandment of love. We know from history - including very recent history - that the Church, in its humanity, makes mistakes. Yet, through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, it learns and grows. And so, we choose the Gospel commandment of love."

In response, Former students of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School published an open letter challenging this decision which they say undermines the Catholic identity of the school and their own grounding in Catholic teaching. They wrote,

“The false choice you have set up, between embracing the truth of Catholic teaching and loving our LGBTQ sisters and brothers, is already spreading a culture of fear”.

CNA  First Things

There is no issue or conflict of interest here between being Catholic and loving ones 'LGBTQ sisters and brothers'.

I can love you, and myself, despite us being sinners. But i cannot confuse such love for an acceptance of sin.

God's commandment to love includes all sinners, but not their sin. However, giving equal treatment to all has to stop at the validation and propagation of their sin.

Hence, whilst i may love my neighbour who prostitutes herself, i ought not to be congratulating her on the great amount of money she makes whilst pursing her trade, though i should be by her side if she is hurt in the process. That is the distinction between loving everyone, as opposed to validating their sin.

I may love my homosexual couple friends, but in a climate where it is promoted as normal, and with my homosexual friend being thus taught to take pride in it, one attempting to be Catholic should certainly not allow their children to associate with them lest their sinful and depraved union is normalised to them.

I may defend yours and my freedom to sin, but i will stop short of confusing it for virtue. Christ loved sinners, but NOT their sin. Loving sinners is not synonymous with absolving sin AS sin.

It is your prerogative to sin. But it is my prerogative to not validate it with my attendance, or support its propagation to others.

I may defend your right to sin, but i will stop short of confusing it for virtue.
Christ loved sinners, but NOT their sin. Loving sinners is not synonymous with absolving sin as sin.

Amen

edX