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German Bishop: Homosexuality is Not a Sin

Father Peter Kohlgraf, the appointed bishop of Mainz, Germany, was asked by the daily Mainzer Allgemeinen Zeitung whether homosexuality is a sin. His answer, “The Catholic Church has never claimed …More
Father Peter Kohlgraf, the appointed bishop of Mainz, Germany, was asked by the daily Mainzer Allgemeinen Zeitung whether homosexuality is a sin. His answer, “The Catholic Church has never claimed that.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines homosexuality as the tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex or as sexual activity with another of the same sex. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls this "acts of grave depravity", which "under no circumstances can they be approved” (CCC 2357).
Kohlgraf will be consecrated a bishop on August 27.
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If the priest is saying that merely having temptations to homosexual acts is not itself a sin, then this is orthodox Catholic teaching. We all experience temptations, and are not sinful in doing so, unless, of course we deliberately invite them.
If he's saying that submitting to those temptations to homosexual acts is not sinful according to the Church, then he's uttering heresy.
Especially if he's …More
If the priest is saying that merely having temptations to homosexual acts is not itself a sin, then this is orthodox Catholic teaching. We all experience temptations, and are not sinful in doing so, unless, of course we deliberately invite them.

If he's saying that submitting to those temptations to homosexual acts is not sinful according to the Church, then he's uttering heresy.

Especially if he's going to be a bishop, he should distinguish carefully between the two cases. He may have done so in the original interview. I haven't read it. Can anyone supply the text of the interview?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition as presented is not helpful, as it omits the case where one simply has the temptations to homosexual acts. Many homosexuals simply have the temptation. They don't wish for it. They don't provoke it. They don't "direct" their desire, in any active sense. In fact, they regret it. Their desires are there through no fault of their own, and they work to counter these desires, recognising them as temptations to mortal sin. The excellent orthodox Catholic organization "Courage" founded by the late Fr John Harvey O.S.F.S., works to support homosexuals such as these who wish to counter their experienced desires and live united to Christ.