The most common questions about being gay and Catholic answered using the official church teaching (Catechism of the Catholic paragraphs 2352 & 2357-2359)
- Can I be gay and Catholic ?
Yes. Many Catholic people experience same sex attraction and are called by God to holiness and chastity.
Being ‘gay’ or experiencing same sex attraction is a different thing from living a sexually active gay lifestyle.
‘The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible’ p. 2358
- Do people choose to be gay?
No.
‘They do not choose their homosexual condition’ p. 2358
- Does the Catholic church ask gay people to convert and become heterosexual?
No. Gay people are called to lives of chastity but this does not mean that they must become heterosexual. Many Catholic same sex attracted people live happy lives as single people while others live in chaste same sex relationships.
‘Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them their inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.’
- How should gay people be treated?
‘They must be accepted with respect, compassion, ad sensitivity’ p.. 2358
- Can gay people become saints too?
Yes.
‘These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.’
- Does the catholic church teach that gay people must be single and that same sex relationships are forbidden?
No. The Catholic Church calls these people to lives of chastity and many Catholics live chaste lives with a same sex partner while many others live as single people.
- If gay people have sex they will go to hell?
Like all sins, God’s mercy is greater and only He can judge an individual’s soul as He alone knows all the circumstances.
(The church encourages the regular use of the sacrament of reconciliation especially in the area of sexual sin.)
‘ Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them their inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.’ P. 2359
- Are sexual sins always mortal sins?
No. The catholic church is very clear about both sexual sin and human weakness.
In relation to masturbation for example the church teaches:
‘To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability.’ P. 2352
The same can be said about for other sexual sins. We must do all that we can to strive for holiness which includes sexual purity while taking these other factors into account.
Through living a sacramental life (regular holy communion and confession and the support of a loving community, individuals will grow over time in the virtues of self mastery and sexual purity).
- The Catholic church understands everything about gay people?
No. The catechism explains that the church does not understand everything about homosexuality.
‘It psychological genesis remains largely unexplained.’ P. 2357
- Are there other gay Catholic people?
Yes, the catholic church teaches that there are many.
‘The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible’ P. 2358
Medjugorje LGBT Ministry 
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