A Roman Catholic Church under the authority of the Archdiocese of Detroit has been conducting masses for homosexuals for nearly 20 years. According to the parish priest, Victor Clore, pastor of Christ the King Church in Detroit said that as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is over, he will continue to do so — despite a demand from the archdiocese to stop.
In a letter by Gerard W. Battersby on March 9, one of the senior Bishops of the Archdiocese of Detroit, this church has “long operated its ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit while rejecting some of the Church’s teachings on sexual morality.”
“This situation is thus a source of sadness,” the letter reads, “for those who reject the teachings deprive themselves of the blessings that come with living a life in Christ. In response to Synod 16’s call to offer the Holy Spirit our “whole-hearted yes,” I wish to communicate through this letter that a Mass for Dignity Detroit members – one which rejects Church teaching on human sexuality – is not possible in any parish church, chapel, or diocesan facility, and is indeed forbidden everywhere in the Archdiocese of Detroit.”
Despite the cease and desist admonition, Clore insists that he will continue to conduct masses for homosexuals, citing “genital sexual love” is but one expression of love which is appropriate for human flourishing. In a response letter, Clore writes,
Some love involves genital sexual expression; other loving experiences do not – friendship, professional care such as nursing, teaching, ministry, etc. Nevertheless, we are sexual persons; our sexuality is a part of our identity, and sexual overtones are a dynamic in every relationship. We need to be aware of emotional and erotic impulses to avoid getting entangled in imprudent, unethical, even illegal liaisons. Moreover, if we repress our sexuality, trying to be asexual, we risk breaching sexual boundaries, as happened in many sex-abuse cases.
The most common genital sexual love is husband and wife. The question at hand is this: Can same-sex couples engage in supportive, loving, self-giving, fulfilling interactions, growing in love, as married persons do, in mutual care, being vulnerable in the context of promise, trust, fidelity, and commitment? Can they experience God’s transcendent love by engaging in faithful, intimate, genital expression? Can they form a permanent, self-sacrificing bond of love in the image of Christ? LGBTQ persons ask us to consider these questions with them.
In Greco-Roman cultures, we simply have not considered these questions, because in the commonsense realm, animals and humans share the same nature of propagation – a male inseminates a female of the same species. But this discussion considers human persons loving one another, not animals copulating. We are different nature. It naturally occurs, in all cultures, that a small but significant number of human persons have same-sex attraction. It is not a disease or a freak of nature. Same-sex love is their natural way for intimate sexual embrace. Catholic groups like Courage or Dignity have arisen because homosexual persons have been overtly rejected and persecuted by mainstream secular and religious culture for centuries – and they still are.
Clore, who has been an ordained Roman Catholic priest for 54 years, says he “cannot stand by silently” and will continue to defy God not only by remaining in the Roman Catholic abomination, but in open sexual rebellion against his creator.
