on and its implication in terms of sexual action choices. At the same time, the Church’s leaders challenge the so-called "straight" or heterosexual majority to take its own moral pulse, to remove the plank of prejudice and/or self-righteousness from our own eyes. In an eloquent summary of the latter notion, the Catholic bishops in the United States offer a challenge: "We call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons. We understand that having a homosexual orientation brings with it enough anxiety, pain and issues related to self-acceptance without society adding additional prejudicial treatment" ‘Always our children’ In October 1997, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family published Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers. Many who emphasize the Church’s official teaching against homosexual sex feared that the document was too lenient, too pastoral, not clear enough about the Catholic prohibition of homosexual genital sex. Others, conversely, were concerned that the document didn’t go far enough or that its focus on parents and family might leave homosexual persons themselves feeling left out or talked about, but not dealt with directly. In July of 1998 a revised version of Always Our Children was reissued, now with Vatican support. The changes and refinements, while relatively minor, did serve to better nuance and clarify those points considered too vague or unclear. The stated purpose of the document is "to reach out to parents who are trying to cope with the discovery of homosexuality in a child who is an adolescent or an adult." It encourages families to draw on their untapped reserves of faith, hope and love, as they together face "uncharted futures." Drawing on all the same Catholic sources c...
