1. The issue of homosexuality and the moral evaluation of homosexual acts have increasingly become a matter of public debate, even in Catholic circles. Since this debate often advances arguments and makes assertions inconsistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church, it is quite rightly a cause for concern to all engaged in the pastoral ministry, and this Congregation has judged it to be of sufficiently grave and widespread importance to address to the Bishops of the Catholic Church this Letter on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. […]

1. Homosexualitatis problema ac morale iudicium de actibus homo­sexualibus crebrius in dies publicarum disceptationum argumentum praebent, etiam apud catholicas coetus. In hisce autem disceptationi­bus saepe rationes adducuntur ac proferuntur sententiae, quae cum Catholicae Ecclesiae doctrina non congruunt, idque causa est cur ii omnes qui pastorali ministerio sunt addicti, iusta sollicitudine teneantur. Quare haec Congregatio censuit problema huiusmodi tam grave tamque late diffusum iam esse, ut postulare videatur has litteras de pastoral! personarum homosexualium cura ad universos Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopos destinatas.

3. Explicit treatment of the problem was given in this Congregation’s “Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics” of December 29, 1975. That document stressed the duty of trying to understand the homosexual condition and noted that culpability for homosexual acts should only be judged with prudence. At the same time the Congregation took note of the distinction commonly drawn between the homosexual condition or tendency and individual homosexual actions. These were described as deprived of their essential and indispensable finality [ordinatione], as being “intrinsically disordered”, and able in no case to be approved of (cf. n. 8, § 4).

3. Iam in Declaratione « De qulbusdam quaestionibus ad sexualem ethicam spectantibus », die 29 Decembris anno 1975 edita, Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidel hoc problema plane pertractaverat. In qua quidem Declaratione aflirmabatur contendendum esse ut aequo animo condicio homosexualitatis comprehenderetur, itemque animadvertebatur perso­nae homosexualis culpabilitatem prudenter esse iudicandam. Insimul haec Congregatio debitam habuit rationem distinctionis communiter receptae, quae inter condicionem vel propensionem homosexualem et actus homosexuales intercedit. Qui actus ibidem describebantur ut actus qui sua necessaria et essentiali ordinatione privantur, scilicet « suapte intrinseca natura » inordinati, ac prolnde tales ut numquam ullo modo approbari possint (cf. n. 8, § 4).

In the discussion which followed the publication of the Declaration, however, an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral, or even good. Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. [sic: “this propensity must be judged to be objectively disordered”]

Attamen in disceptationibus, quae post editam Declarationem habi­tae sunt, interpretationes praeter modum benevolae sunt propositae de ipsa condicione homosexuali, ac quispiam eo processit, ut eam indifferentem ac vel etiam bonam declaraverit. Ex contrario, clara in luce ponendum est peculiarem personae homosexualis propensionem, quamquam per se ipsa peccatum non est, nihilominus inclinat plus minus vehementer ad agendi rationem quae, ordine morali spectato, intrinsece mala habenda est. Hac de causa, ipsa propensio obiective inordinata est iudicanda.

Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.

Quae cum ita sint, erga eos qui in bac condicione versantur, pecu­liaris cura pastoralis est adhibenda, ne ildem ad putandum inducantur expletionem huiusmodi propensionis in iunctionibus homosexualibus optionem esse, quae moraliter admitti possit.

7. The Church, obedient to the Lord who founded her and gave to her the sacramental life, celebrates the divine plan of the loving and live-giving union of men and women in the sacrament of marriage. It is only in the marital relationship that the use of the sexual faculty can be morally good. A person engaging in homosexual behaviour therefore acts immorally.

7. Ecclesia, Domino obsequens qui eam condidit et donum vitae sacramentalis largitus est, in sacramento matrimonii consilium divi­num celebrat circa mutuam et vivificam amoris unionem inter virum et mulierem. Solum in coniugali iunctione sexualis facultatis usus  ^{[p. 547]} moraliter rectus esse potest. Qui igitur homosexuali modo se gerat, contra regulam morum operatur.

To chose someone of the same sex for one’s sexual activity is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of the Creator’s sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life; and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual persons are not often generous and giving of themselves; but when they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent.

Sexuale commercium eligere cum persona eiusdem sexus idem est ac dissolvere, praeter fines, illam symbolortum et significationum copiam, quae, secundum Creatoris consilium, rei sexuali inhaeret. Commixtio homosexualis nullo modo talem unionem complementarem exprimit, quae valeat vitam transmittere, ac propterea dissentit a vocations ad vitam ducendam secundum Main formam donationis sui, in qua iuxta Evangelium tota christianae vitae ratio sita est. Hoc non ita est acci­piendum, quasi personae homosexuales non sint saepe generosae, nec sui donationem fasere valsant; nihilominus ipsae, cum se dant com­mercio homosexuali, interiorem sexualem propensionem confirmant a recto ordine alienam, quae suapte natura sui delectationem potissimum intendit.

As in every moral disorder, [sic: “lack of proper ordering”] homosexual activity prevents one’s own fulfillment and happiness by acting contrary to the creative wisdom of God. The Church, in rejecting erroneous opinions regarding homosexuality, does not limit but rather defends personal freedom and dignity realistically and authentically understood.

Sicut in qualibet morum inordinatione fieri contingit, !ta etiam com­mercium homosexuals impedit, quominus quis suam perfectionem et felicitatem attingat, quippe quod De! Creatoris sapientiae contradicat. Ecclesia, dum falsas reicit doctrinal de homosexualitate, non coarctat, quin potius defendit humanae personae libertatem ac dignitatem con­creto et authentico modo intellectas.

8. Thus, the Church’s teaching today is in organic continuity with the Scriptural perspective and with her own constant Tradition. Though today’s world is in many ways quite new, the Christian community senses the profound and lasting bonds which join us to those generations who have gone before us, “marked with the sign of faith”.

8. Quae cum ita lint, hodiernum Ecclesiae magisterium plene et con­gruenter cohaerere pergit cum lis quae Sacra Scriptura et constans Tra­ditio docent. Etiamsi mundus hodiernus ob multas rationes vere diffe­rat, nihilominus christiana communitas probe novit se cum aetatibus, quae ipsam cc in signo fidei » praecesserunt, intimo ac numquam perituro vinculo colligari.

[…] Nevertheless, increasing numbers of people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as though it were not disordered and to condone homosexual activity. […]

[…] Hodie tamen magis magisque augescit eorum numerus qui, etiam intra Ecclesiae saepta, vehementissimis pressuris eam conantur adducers ad condicionem homosexualitatis admittendam quasi inordinata non sit, et ad actus homosexuales legitimos declarandos. […]

10. It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.

10. Firmiter deplorandum est personas homosexuales fuisse et adhuc esse obnoxias verbis malevolis ac v!olentiae. Huiusmodi agendi ratio­nes, ubicumque eveniunt, postulant ut ab Ecclesiae Pastoribus dam­nentur, quippe quae ostendant defectum reverentiae erga alios; qui defectus fundamentalia principia laedit, quibus sanum civile con­sortinm innititur. Dignitas propria cuiusvis personae humanae semper observanda est in verbis, et in actionibus et in legibus.

But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase.

Attamen iuxta repulsio iniustitiae actuum qui contra homosexuales positi stint, nullo modo viam sternere potest ad asserendum condicio­nem homosexualitatis inordinatam non esse. Si atitem fieri contingat ut haec assertio admittatur atque bac de causa commercium homo­sexuale habeatur bonum, vel leges inducantur ad tuendam talem agendi rationem ad gtiam nemo ius quodvis vindicare potest, titne neque Ec­clesia neque societas complexive sumpta causam mirandi habebunt, si aliae etiam opiniones aliique agendi modi aberrantes magis magisque invalescant et si mores ration! non consentanei ac v!olenti increbrescant.

11. It has been argued that the homosexual orientation in certain cases is not the result of deliberate choice; and so the homosexual person would then have no choice but to behave in a homosexual fashion. Lacking freedom, such a person, even if engaged in homosexual activity, would not be culpable.

11. Nonnulli opinantur propensionem homosexualem in gtiibusdam casibus non esse effectum optionis deliberatae, nee dari aliam optionem personae homosexuali, cum ipsa ad agendum modo homosexuali neces­sitate cogatur. Inde affirmant personam homosexualem in his casibus agere absque culpa, cum vere libera non sit.

Here, the Church’s wise moral tradition is necessary since it warns against generalizations in judging individual cases. In fact, circumstances may exist, or may have existed in the past, which would reduce or remove the culpability of the individual in a given instance; or other circumstances may increase it.

Ad rem quod attinet, necessarium est recolere sapientem de mor!bus tralaticiam doctrinam Ecclesiae, qua monemur ne iudicium de singulis casibus ad casus universos, ad rem quod attinet, transferatur. Ac revera in aliquo determinato casu potuerunt quidem antehac esse et adhuc exstare possunt talia rerum adiuncta, quae culpabilitatem sin­gularis hominis minuant, immo etiam tollant ; ex contrario alia adiuncta eam augere possunt.

What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behaviour of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and therefore inculpable.

Utcumque res se habet, semper vitanda est prae­sumptio gratulta atque dehonestans, iuxta quam actiones homosexuales eorum qui homosexualitate laborant semper ac omnino coactioni obno­xiae sunt ac propterea culpa carent.

What is essential is that the fundamental liberty which characterizes the human person and gives him his dignity be recognized as belonging to the homosexual person as well. As in every conversion from evil, the abandonment of homosexual activity will require a profound collaboration of the individual with God’s liberating grace.

Revera iis etiam, qui propensione homosexuali affecti sunt, fundamentalis illa libertas agnoscenda est quae personam humanam distinguit elque propriam tribuit dignitatem. Qttiemadmodum accidit quotiescumque habetur conversio a malo, vi huius libertatis nisus humani, lumine et robore gratiae Dei suffulti, efficere poterunt ut personae homosexuales valeant se ab actione homo­sexuali abstinere.

12. What, then, are homosexual persons to do who seek to follow the Lord? Fundamentally, they are called to enact the will of God in their life by joining whatever sufferings and difficulties they experience in virtue of their condition to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross. That Cross, for the believer, is a fruitful sacrifice since from that death come life and redemption. While any call to carry the cross or to understand a Christian’s suffering in this way will predictably be met with bitter ridicule by some, it should be remembered that this is the way to eternal life for all who follow Christ.

^{[p. 550]} 12. Quid igitur agere debet persona homosexualis quae Dominum sectari exoptet? Paucis verbis, hae personae vocantur ad perficiendam Dei voluntatem in vita sua, coniungendo omnes poenas ac diûicultates, quas ob snam condicionem ipsis experiri contingat, cum sacrificio crucis Domini nostri. Pro christifidelibus crux est salutiferum sacrificium, cum ab illa morte vita ac redemptio proficiscantur. Quamvis omnis invita­tio ad ferendam crucem vel ad intellegendum hoe modo christianorum dolorem apud quosdam praevisam irrisionem provocet, nihilominus obliviscendum non est hanc esse viam salutis quae universis Christi asseclis proponitur.

It is, in effect, none other than the teaching of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians when he says that the Spirit produces in the lives of the faithful “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control” (5:22) and further (v. 24), “You cannot belong to Christ unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.”

Ac revera nihil aliud docet Apostolus Paulus, cum in epistula ad Galatas affirmat Spiritum in fidelium vita gignere fructus, qui snnt caritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, benignitas, bonitas ... fides, mode­stia, continentia » ; atque ulterius : cc Qui autem sunt Christi carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis et concupiscentils » (Gal 5, 22. 21).

It is easily misunderstood, however, if it is merely seen as a pointless effort at self-denial. The Cross is a denial of self, but in service to the will of God himself who makes life come from death and empowers those who trust in him to practise virtue in place of vice.

Haec autem invitatio in malam interpretationem facile detorqueri potest, si accipiatur veluti inanis conatus sui abnegandi. Crux est quidem abnegatio sui, sed hoe fit sese committendo voluntati Dei, qui ex morte vitam producit atque efficit, ut qui in Eo fiduciam suam reponant, virtutem, relicto vitio, colere valeant.

To celebrate the Paschal Mystery, it is necessary to let that Mystery become imprinted in the fabric of daily life. To refuse to sacrifice one’s own will in obedience to the will of the Lord is effectively to prevent salvation. Just as the Cross was central to the expression of God’s redemptive love for us in Jesus, so the conformity of the self-denial of homosexual men and women with the sacrifice of the Lord will constitute for them a source of self-giving which will save them from a way of life which constantly threatens to destroy them.

Mysterium Paschale tune solum vere celebratur, cum sinitnr ut coti­dianae vitae contextum pervadat. Qui recusat propriae voluntatis abdi­cationem, ut oboedientiam praestet Domini voluntati, re vera saluti impedimentum apponit. Quemadmodum in Cruce fastigium attingit manifestatio amoris redemptivi Dei erga nos, ita viri ac mulieres homo­sexuales, si per sui abnegationem se ad Christi Domini sacrificium con­formaverint, inde fontem invenient donationis sui, quae eos liberabit a vivendi genere secumferente iuge periculum ipsorum ruinae.

Christians who are homosexual are called, as all of us are, to a chaste life. As they dedicate their lives to understanding the nature of God’s personal call to them, they will be able to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance more faithfully and receive the Lord’s grace so freely offered there in order to convert their lives more fully to his Way. […]

Personae homosexuales, haud secus ac ceteri christiani, vocantur ad vitam ducendam in castitate. Si assidue attendant ad intellegendam naturam don! vocationis quod Deus ipsis singulis largitus est, li pro­fecto apti evadent ad sacramentum Paenitentiae fidellus celebrandum, et ad gratiam Domini recipiendam inde largiter oblatam, ut se ad eius sequelam plenius convertere possint. […]

15. We encourage the Bishops, then, to provide pastoral care in full accord with the teaching of the Church for homosexual persons of their dioceses. No authentic pastoral programme will include organizations in which homosexual persons associate with each other without clearly stating that homosexual activity is immoral. A truly pastoral approach will appreciate the need for homosexual persons to avoid the near occasions of sin.

15. Hsec igitur Congregatio episcopos hortatur ut in sua cuiusque dioecesi, quod ad personas homosexuales attinet, actionem pastoralem promoveant, quae cum Ecclesiae magisterio plene cohaereat. Nullum authenticum pastoralis navitatis programma admittere poterit organi­zationes, quae constent ex pernonis homosexualibus inter se consociatis, nisi in ipsis clare sit statutum exercitium homosexualitatis esse contra regulam morum. Actio vere pastoralis prospicere etiam debebit, ut a personis homosexualibus proximae peccandi occasiones removeantur.

We would heartily encourage programmes where these dangers are avoided. But we wish to make it clear that departure from the Church’s teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral. The neglect of the Church’s position prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve.

Commendanda sane sunt ea programmata in qu!bus huiusmodi pericula praecaventur. In luce tamen bene ponendum est quemlibet digressum ab Ecclesiae Magisterio vel de eo silentium, ex sollicitudine  ^{[p. 552]} curam pastoralem praestandi, nullo modo haberi posse ut formam authenticae sollertiae vel validae navitatis pastorales. Solummodo id quod verum est, ad ultimum esse potest etiam pastorale. Si ad Ecclesiae magisterium non attenditur, impedimentum obicitur ne viri ac mulieres homosexuales eam curationem recipiant, qua indigent et ad quam recipiendam ius habent.

An authentic pastoral programme will assist homosexual persons at all levels of the spiritual life: through the sacraments, and in particular through the frequent and sincere use of the sacrament of Reconciliation, through prayer, witness, counsel and individual care. In such a way, the entire Christian community can come to recognize its own call to assist its brothers and sisters, without deluding them or isolating them.

Pastorale programma veri nominis auxilium praebebit personis homosexualibus in omnibus gradibus ipsarum vitae spiritualis in prae­bendis sacramentis, ae nominatim frequenti ac rincera Confessione, itemque per precationem, vitae testimonium, consilium atque atten­tionem singulis praestitam. Hoc modo communitas christiana universa tandem agnoscere poterit vocari ad auxilium ferendum hisce suis fra­tribus ac sororibus, sive frustrationem cive solitudinem ab eis removendo.

16. From this multi-faceted approach there are numerous advantages to be gained, not the least of which is the realization that a homosexual person, as every human being, deeply needs to be nourished at many different levels simultaneously.

16. Ex his pastoralibus inceptis, quae diversas suscipiunt formas, plura oriri possunt commoda, quorum non ultimum hoc est, quod in comperto habeatur personas homosexuales sicut ceteras omnes vehe­menter necessitatem experiri auxilium coniuncte accipiendi pro variis vitae suae condicionibus.

The human person, made in the image and likeness of God, can hardly be adequately described by a reductionist reference to his or her sexual orientation. Every one living on the face of the earth has personal problems and difficulties, but challenges to growth, strengths, talents and gifts as well. Today, the Church provides a badly needed context for the care of the human person when she refuses to consider the person as a “heterosexual” or a “homosexual” and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: the creature of God, and by grace, his child and heir to eternal life.

Persona humans, ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei creata, aeque definiri nequit, si unice ratio habeatur propensionis sexualis. Quilibet homo in hoc mundo vivens problematibus et difficultatibus quidem pre­mitur quae ipsum tangunt, sed etiam spiritualis profectus opportuni­tates, vires, talenta ac dona ei suppetunt propria. Ecclesia offert illum vitae contextum, quo hodie homines quam maxime indigent pro huma­nae personae medela, ac tune potissimum offert, cum renuit in persona unite considerare rationem « heterosexualem » vel « homosexualem », sed declarat quemlibet hominem prae se ferre fundamentalem identi­tatem, cum creatura sit et, per gratiam, Dei filius et vitae aeternae heres.

17. In bringing this entire matter to the Bishops’ attention, this Congregation wishes to support their efforts to assure that the teaching of the Lord and his Church on this important question be communicated fully to all the faithful.

17. Haec Congregatio, tales explicationes et directorial pastorales normas episcopis praebens, exoptat eorum nisus adiuvare eo spectantes, ut Doctrina Domini eiusque Ecclesiae de hoc tam gravi argumento ad universos christifideles integre transmittatur.

In light of the points made above, they should decide for their own dioceses the extent to which an intervention on their part is indicated. In addition, should they consider it helpful, further coordinated action at the level of their National Bishops’ Conference may be envisioned.

Sub lute rerum quae supra sunt expositae Ordinarii locorum invi­tantur, intra ambitum competentiae suae, ad considerandam peculiarium interventuum necessitatem. Praeterea, si id opportunum videatur, iniri poterit amplior consociata actio ab Episcoporum Conferentiis variarum Nationum.

In a particular way, we would ask the Bishops to support, with the means at their disposal, the development of appropriate forms of pastoral care for homosexual persons. These would include the assistance of the psychological, sociological and medical sciences, in full accord with the teaching of the Church.

^{[p. 553]} Peculiari modo cordi habeant Episcopi, ope mediorum quae ipsis praesto sunt, illas curae pastoralis formas promovere, quae pro per­sonis homosexualibus conditae sunt. Id complecti poterit adiutricem operam scientiarum quae in re psychologica, sociologica et medica ver­santur semper fidelitate erga doctrinam Ecclesiae plene servata.

They are encouraged to call on the assistance of all Catholic theologians who, by teaching what the Church teaches, and by deepening their reflections on the true meaning of human sexuality and Christian marriage with the virtues it engenders, will make an important contribution in this particular area of pastoral care.

Potissimum Episcopi operam omnium theologorum catholicorum incitare ne omittant, qui veritates docentes, quas Ecclesia docet, suis­que investigationibus altius scrutantes germanam significationem sexua­litatis humanae christianique matrimonii secundum divinum consi­Hum, necnon virtutes, quae ab eo exiguntur, validum auxilium prae­bere poterunt in peculiari hoc campo pastoralis navitatis.

The Bishops are asked to exercise special care in the selection of pastoral ministers so that by their own high degree of spiritual and personal maturity and by their fidelity to the Magisterium, they may be of real service to homosexual persons, promoting their health and well-being in the fullest sense. Such ministers will reject theological opinions which dissent from the teaching of the Church and which, therefore, cannot be used as guidelines for pastoral care.

Specialem deinde diligentiam Episcopi adhibere debent in seligendis ministris quibus hoc magnae gravitatis munus committatur, ita ut ipsi ob fidelitstem erga Magisterium atque ob praestantiam suae spiritualis ac psychologicae maturitatis, efficaci adiumento esse possint personis homosexualibus, ad bonum uniuscuiusque personae integre consequen­dum. Tales ministri opiniones theologicas respuent doctrinae Ecclesiae oppositas, quae proinde adhiberi nequeunt veluti normae directoriae in rei pastoralis provincia.

We encourage the Bishops to promote appropriate catechetical programmes based on the truth about human sexuality in its relationship to the family as taught by the Church. Such programmes should provide a good context within which to deal with the question of homosexuality.

Praeterea opportunum erit, ut congrua institutionis catecheticae programmata apparentur, quorum fundamentum sit veritas de sexua­litate humana spectata in suis relationibus cum familiari convictu, qualis ab Ecclesia proponitur. Haec enim programmata optimum sup­peditant contextum, in cuius ambitu quaestio quoque de homosexua­litate pertractari potest.

This catechesis would also assist those families of homosexual persons to deal with this problem which affects them so deeply.

Huiusmodi catechetica institutio illis etiam familiis auxilium affe­ret, quae inter sua membra personas homosexuales complectuntur, ut problema, quod tam penitus eas angit, apte aggredi valeant.

All support should be withdrawn from any organizations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely. Such support, or even the semblance of such support, can be gravely misinterpreted. Special attention should be given to the practice of scheduling religious services and to the use of Church buildings by these groups, including the facilities of Catholic schools and colleges. To some, such permission to use Church property may seem only just and charitable; but in reality it is contradictory to the purpose for which these institutions were founded, it is misleading and often scandalous. […]

Omne patrocinium removendum est a quibusvis organizationibus quae magisterium Ecclesiae subvertere contendunt, vel quae erga illud ambigue se gerunt, aut illud prorsus neglegunt. Tale patroci­nium, ac vel etiam eius adumbratio, graves male detortas interpreta­tiones gignere potest. Peculiaris attentio adhibenda est, cum agitur de religiosis celebrationibus peragendis ac de aedificiis, quae ad Eccle­siam pertinent, in horum coetuum usum concedendis, scholarum sedibus et catholicis altiorum studiorum institutis non exceptis. Concessio huius facultatis utendi sedibus, quae ad Ecclesiam pertinent, cuipiam non­nisi altus iustitiae et caritatis videri poterit ; at re vera id opponitur  ^{[p. 554]} finibus ipsis, ob quos haec instituta condita sunt, atque ambiguitatis ac pravl exempli causa esse potest. […]