I do wanna be clear -- I don't think this representation is the official view or take of the Catholic Church. When you convert to Catholicism you have to go through RCIA and I spent many years reading and working through understanding the Catholic Church. Homosexuality was not a big topic, but from what I read, and with conversations with a priest and things, it definitely left me with the impression that, the bible says what it says about homosexuality, but people are people and all people are God's people. It ran along the same vein as marrying outside the Church. In my area that still such a taboo and treated like sacrilege. I remember the priest mentioning that topic saying -- "They believe in God, still hold core values and marrying someone who shares at least major ones, and is of Christian faith. I think it could be a lot worse." -- he was very "modern" I suppose in his ideas.

For what its worth -- like I said I converted to Catholicism and while I'm not devout as I should be, I do believe in a lot of core principles there, for me. My intention wasn't to blame the Catholic Church for what this booklet says, or pretend it's indicative of the people as a whole. I definitely don't think it is. I've learned through interactions with those who are very devout, their attitude is more "we need to as a society embrace Jesus' teachings, and it's hard because we are stubborn, finite people. I pray everyday we learn a little more how to embrace what was taught to us by Christ, not society." That said, we've seen the Pope ruffle some feathers with his comments on homosexuality, but I think he's doing what we all wish we could do -- step aside and really apply what God's taught us.



This isn't a Sunday School Lesson! I don't mean to make it that, just wanted to be clear that I'm not trying to put down religion, specifically one I personally identify with. I do think, however, it's a sign of we don't know how deep the problem runs. It's a lot like the protests with police brutality and hatred, this presidency brought out a lot of people in numbers I've never dreamed existed based on my limited perception of the world. I'd say this probably falls in that scope, too.



But, I did mean to redirect the conversation to mental health and stigma, and I don't think I made it very evident-- I was saying, did you ever have a circumstance were stigma played a role in a social setting such as at church. I haven't had much issue with that.


I wasn't going to write again because I was kinda hoping this topic would die out, but since it's returned to the surface I figured I should clarify my intentions, what I'm trying to say, and where I wanted to see this threat go. I'm sorry if I didn't do a good job of that the first time around.