Sexuality is a beautiful part of being human and it is a gift from God that needs to be known, understood, appreciated and embraced (no pun intended). Sexuality is a holy part of being a man or a woman. Unfortunately, that's not the message we receive in secular society and it is infrequently heard from the pulpit in Catholic churches and very likely not in other Christian communities. Unheard of from the pulpit, that is, until Pope John Paul II introduced his monumental work, Theology of the Body. But that's a topic for another time. Sexuality is not just a religious issue, it is a human issue and everything human is of our interest.
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly ran an interesting story on sexuality. I will say it makes some good points BUT there are some views that are inconsistent with Catholicism. OK, but that's a not a good reason not to watch the story! Familiarize yourself with the issues --watch the video and read something on the Theology of the Body. AND don't be scared.
At places like St Joseph's Seminary there's a course on human sexuality taught by Father John Bonnici, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. Father Bonnici deals with the physiological, psychological, relational, spiritual and theological aspects of human sexuality viz. priestly ministry. AND I am glad to have the class. It is a forum for us to intelligently speak about human sexuality matters while considering the pastoral issues at hand that we will encounter in the parish setting. Learning on the job is not an adequate response any longer... sorry....
I just watched that video. It was disturbing and now I understand why mainline denominations are losing membership. To have a trans-gender person in the seminary commenting on sexuality in the context of Christian theology, is laughable. Unfortunately, sexual education usually means conforming to society's ideas toleration of many different life style choices and sexual practices. As a seminarian, I am glad that I was in a seminary that both talked about sexuality while never denying the Church's perennial teaching. There is a difference between talking explicitly about sexual morality and sexuality's role in the life of the seminarian and those whom they will serve and learning how to bend orthodox teaching in order to fit the libertine agenda of a minority of people in the Church and our society. This interview seemed to blend many issues together.
By the way on a side note, It is hard to watch a video which refers to so many women as pastors.
Agreed on all points. One can point to the demise of the Anglican Communion with the Lambeth Conference allowing contraception as a possibility in Christian life. If you contracept long enough your ecclesial communion will diminish. How many members of the Episcopal Church are there today? 2 million?
I am in the process of writing the producers of the show to protest them not interviewing Catholic seminaries who do a good job at dealing with matters of humanity, sexuality and affective maturity.