On November 14th, 2009, Canada’s first openly gay Catholic priest, Father Karl Clemens, married his long time partner in Toronto, Ontario. Clemens, who is close to seventy, retired from the Kingston, Ontario diocese after 33 years of service and moved to Toronto to advocate for the city’s gay village. Clemens stated that he was as prepared to handle the inevitable backlash from the Church and some of its followers as he was when he declared his sexual orientation in 2005, and strongly believes that homosexuals deserve to exercise their right to enter into same-sex marriage. (Weese) It is currently estimated that 1 to 3% of the population engage in homosexual acts, however, it was previously suggested that at least 10% of the population was
In this context Paul might well have has in mind when speaking of arsenokoitai clients of brothels who brought the sexual services of boy slaves. (Moore, 112-113)
Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons
The issue of homosexuality and the moral evaluation of homosexual acts have increasingly become a matter of public debate. Since this 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. In response, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, currently known as Pope Benedict XVI, published this letter as it is known to be of sufficiently critical and widespread importance to address to the bishops of the Catholic Church on this important issue. The phenomenon of homosexuality, as complex as it is, is a proper focus for the Church’s pastoral care. It requires ministers’ attentive study, active concern and honest, theologically well-balanced guidance. The letter states that “homosexuals should not suffer from prejudice against their basic human rights. They have a right to respect, friendship and justice and should have an active role in the Christian community” (Ratzinger, 205)
It should be noted that, in the presence of such remarkable diversity, there is nevertheless a clear consistency within the Scriptures themselves on the moral issue of homosexual behaviour. It is