by Emmanuel Valenza
The Homosexual Network, by Fr. Enrique Rueda, is a monumental study of the homosexual movement—its ideology, subculture, organizations, funding, and goals. It is must reading for all who wish to understand how the convictions of this militant movement permeate American society.
Of special interest to Catholics is an eye-opening seventy-two page analysis of homosexual infiltration of the Catholic Church. No longer does support of the homosexual movement come from a few isolated sources. "Catholic" bishops, theologians, dioceses, parishes, schools, seminaries, and publications are jumping on the pro-homosexual bandwagon. Some examples:
* Pro-homosexual statements by sixteen bishops (p. 316).
* Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, in an article published in his diocesan Catholic paper, "uses all the arguments offered by the homosexual apologists" (p. 317). A comparison of Archbishop Weakland's language with homosexual arguments is found on pp. 318-319.
* Bishop Peter A. Rosazza defends the ordination of homosexuals as Catholic priests in a letter to New Ways Ministry, an organization of pro-homosexual Catholics.
* Thirty-seven American Catholic pro-homosexual sources, including leaders and organizations, are found on pp. 326-327.
* Fr. Rueda writes, "According to Dignity,1 seventy-five per cent of its meetings nationwide are held on Church property" (p. 321).
* Thirty-six Dignity chapters along with 114 other "Catholic" groups—the so-called Catholic Coalition for Gay Civil Rights—are listed on pp. 337-340. Fr. Rueda comments: "A total of 1,353 priests, brothers, and nuns belong to this pro-homosexual coalition. This represents 54.8 per cent of the total membership of this organization, indicating the degree to which the homosexual ideology has penetrated the Catholic clergy" (p. 340). (In this article, all references and quotes are taken from The Homosexual Network, unless otherwise noted.)
The ultimate aim of the homosexual movement is to have the homosexual lifestyle approved by society. Victory, however, cannot be achieved without the consent of organized religion, especially the Catholic Church. Hence homosexuals, and their supporters, are at pains to change the teaching of the Church. When all is said and done, they hope to destroy the Church. The homosexual movement has joined the ranks of the "fifth column" in the Church. Dietrich von Hildebrand explains in The Devastated Vineyard:
"It must be emphasized from the outset, however, that the destruction of the Church is being sought from two completely different motives. In one case it is the conspiracy which has existed at all times to undermine the Faith and destroy the Church, with the sole difference that those involved do not want to undermine the Church from without, but rather from within. This is precisely the system of the "fifth column." People who pretend to be Catholics, who assume offices in the Church, are seeking from within, under the banner of reform and progress, to destroy the Church" (p. xii).
In the literature of the homosexual movement, Christ is described as (1) assimilating within Himself maleness and femaleness, heterosexuality and homosexuality (see pp. 79), or as (2) homosexual. Communication, an underground publication which has found its way into the mailboxes of many homosexual priests and nuns of the Church, provides blasphemous "poetry" as an example:
What are you calling forth within me
My clowning around hero?
The Messianic secret, the scholars call it
Might be more properly called
"God in the closet."Like some uptight but none-the-less lovable
Religious men I've known,
You found it necessary to hide
Who you were,
You ran
From those who wanted to crown you
King (or Queen) (p. 554).
The diabolical nature of the homosexual movement is also manifested in its attitude towards religious life. Fr. Rueda tells of homosexual males who organize transvestite groups. One satanic group, the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," go by the following names: "Sister Hysterectoria," "Mother Inferior," to list a few (p. 353). What is even more shocking is that Roman Catholic nuns "dialogue" with this assembly of perverted homosexuals.
Homosexuals have their own version of "marriage"—what they call gay "unions" (p. 573). In the eyes of homosexuals, God sanctions "and sustains the free and deliberate choice of two people to live together in love," to quote from Dignity's committee statement (p. 571) (Appendix V, "Homosexual Marriage Rituals," is one of twelve excellent appendices.)
Needless to say, God condemns such "marriages." First, Christian marriage consists of the union of one man and one woman only, and it is indissoluble. Secondly, the primary purpose of marriage is the begetting and education of children; the secondary purpose is the mutual assistance of husband and wife. Thirdly, the Church has always taught that sodomy is a shameful, unnatural and sinful act.
Parents would not like to have their children raised by homosexuals. Fr. Rueda quotes David Thorstad, a spokesman for the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), who attempts to present a position which reflects the homosexual movement as a whole (pp. 80-82). His convictions are: (1) sex in all its manifestations is good as long as it is mutually pleasurable; (2) children and adults should be allowed unbridled sexual satisfaction; (3) the best parents are those who allow their children complete freedom in all aspects of life; (4) the child is capable of consenting to sex from the moment he is in the crib; (5) the most qualified people to interpret man/boy relationships are man/boy lovers.
By denying that certain acts are intrinsically evil or good, homosexuals fall back on what Fr. Rueda calls "the quintessential subjective category"—pleasure. Goodness is equated with pleasure. This equation is open to the following objections.
First, G. E. Moore, in his Principia Ethica, has clearly shown that all attempts to define the word "good" necessarily commit what he calls the "naturalistic fallacy"—the fallacy of mistaking some property other than goodness for goodness itself. For example, if "good" is identical with pleasure, then the statement "Pleasure is good" would mean "Pleasure is pleasure," a tautology.
Secondly, bodily pleasure extends in space and in time. The duration of its length can be measured. Moral goodness, however, cannot extend in space and in time (Von Hildebrand, Ethics, p. 121).
Thirdly, a morally good act need not entail pleasure. For example, a man saves a girl from a gang of would-be rapists and gets pummeled. His act is morally good, but only bodily pain, not pleasure, is involved.
Fourthly, are not certain pleasures legitimate and others sinful? Moderation in eating and drinking is advantageous to both soul and body. But the intemperate destroy the health of soul and body. Who is more contemptible than the glutton? Even animals cease to eat when full. Eating and drinking are pleasurable, as everyone knows, but "the sensual man perceiveth not those things that are of the Spirit of God" (I Cor. 2:14).
If homosexuals think that God sanctions their "marriages," they should recall what happened to Onan, who also divorced sexual intercourse from its openness to procreation. Onan, a character in the Old Testament "wasted his seed on the ground" (Gen. 38:9). God struck him dead (Gen. 38:10). Hence, this form of contraception is called "Onanism." It is a grave sin.
We do not expect homosexuals and their supporters to mention Onan, since they act as if Sodom never existed. Our words "sodomite" and "sodomy" are taken from the inhabitants of Sodom, who were guilty of unnatural sins. God destroyed Sodom by raining down fire and sulphur (Gen. 19:24).
Fierce denunciations of homosexuals are common in the Bible. Romans 1:21-32 describes homosexuals as "unclean"; "dishonoring their own bodies among themselves"; "vain in their reasonings"; "filled with all iniquity, malice, immorality, avarice, wickedness"; "full of envy, murder, contention, and deceit." I Timothy 1:9 lists sodomites, among others, as "lawless," "ungodly," and "immoral." St. Paul includes sodomites and the effeminate in his enumeration of unjust people who will not possess the Kingdom of God (I Cor. 6:9-10).
More examples could be cited, but there is no need to beat a man when he is down and defeated. However, there are many Catholic biblical scholars who aid the homosexual movement with a pro-homosexual biblical interpretation. In reality, no such interpretation is possible. "Agreement with the faith" is the ultimate criterion of true biblical interpretation. If a particular scriptural text is interpreted as clashing with other texts which are obvious in their meaning, then the interpretation is incorrect. For example, homosexuals are fond of pointing to the love between David and Jonathan as an example of homosexual love (cf. I Samuel 18: 14; I Samuel 20: 16-18). These passages in no way warrant such an interpretation. Is it not possible for men to share strong emotional, affective responses? Jesus' love for St. John the Disciple is an excellent example. But many homosexuals also use this friendship as an example of homosexual love (p. 260). As we have noted, many homosexuals have no qualms about blaspheming. Fr. Rueda makes a good point concerning the sudden rise in pro-homosexual interpretations of biblical texts. He writes:
There is no indication that there is a "conspiracy" between the scholars and the homosexual movement; from the strictly religious point of view, however, this is an ominous phenomenon. According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Scriptures are the norm, and the function of religion is to interact with the world from the standpoint of faith. What seems to have happened is that biblical scholars have used the world as a guide and proceeded to reinterpret religion to suit the needs of the world. Otherwise, why only when the homosexual movement arose did scholars begin to interpret the Bible in harmony with the homosexual ideology? (p. 252).
The widespread influence of the homosexual movement within the Church is yet another example of the failure of many shepherds to protect their sheep. Every bishop is a true successor of the Apostles. Christ said to the Apostles: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world" (Matt. 28:19-20). Consequently, each bishop is the divinely constituted teacher of the faith in his diocese. One of his duties is to teach, interpret and protect the deposit of faith. When bishops submit to heretical movements, or, even worse, take an active part in them, they act like wolves instead of like shepherds.
1. "Dignity" is an organization of Catholic homosexuals.