The Problem with Ending Conversion Practices
Bishop John Keenan writes about the Scottish Bishops response to possible Holyrood legislation looking at so called gay conversion therapy.
Following moves in other legislatures, the Scottish Parliament is likely to consider a ban on what has been called Gay Conversion Therapy. In preparation, the Scottish Government published a report from its expert advisory group on “Ending Conversion Practices”.
In response Scotland’s Catholic Bishops have issued a statement in which we consider what the proposed legislation might actually do, and any implications it might have for the Church in supporting Catholics who find themselves with same-sex attraction.
We hope our response will also help our lay faithful to understand the issues at stake when it comes before the Parliament and have confidence in what our Church teaches on human sexuality and how we best pastorally care for Catholics with same-sex attraction who want to live according to our Gospel values.
The first point we wanted to make is how the Church is pastorally sensitive to the experience of people who identify as homosexual. In our care for them, from beginning to end, we want them to find themselves met with welcome and reassurance, understanding and compassion and with the particular care and support they need in the challenges that come from all that life brings them.
As far as legislation is concerned, the Church supports laws that protects people from physical, mental and verbal abuse in whatever form. We believe, however, that existing legislation already protects from any harm that would arise from conversion therapy properly understood.
A fundamental issue is that the expert group leaves unclear what is actually meant by ‘conversion practices’. In fact, it leaves its scope wide enough to include a priest offering merely pastoral support to a Catholic with same sex attraction who comes to him for spiritual direction, hoping for help to live by the Church’s teaching. A priest’s support to them in living celibately could itself be found to be conversion therapy, and such a looming threat of criminalising a priest’s advice, given in good faith, will create a chilling effect. This would be the case even if the person coming to the priest wanted help to follow the Church teaching since the expert commission states they cannot consent to this teaching even though they might believe they can.
So, our worry is that the proposals go too far, and we have asked that legislation be tested to ensure it does not encroach on the lawful right of Churches to continue their teaching and pastoral care with the normal rights and prerogatives we expect in a free society. A fundamental pillar of any free society is that the State respects the freedom of religious organisations to teach their beliefs and to support, through pastoral means, members who want to live in accordance with those beliefs.
If accepted as proposed, legal counsel has warned that it would criminalise ordinary pastoral care and prayer offered by the Church. At the same time, it could criminalise parents for parental guidance offered to their children in regard to their sexual orientation and expression that the State does not deem as constituting “affirmative care”.
In short, these proposals, if passed by Parliament, would criminalise mainstream religious pastoral care, parental guidance, and medical or other professional intervention relating to sexual orientation, unless approved by the State as acceptable.
It could criminalise the Church’s teaching about God’s creation of the human person as male and female as well as our teaching about the meaning of sex as within marriage. It could even be that anyone who proposes this teaching to someone with same sex attraction issues would face sanctions.
The Scottish bishops fear Scotland’s priests being banned from carrying out their ordinary work, and classroom and pastoral teachers being in fear of losing their post, as well as the general uncertainty around Catholic schools being able to remain aligned to the Church’s teaching and pastoral care.
So, we have urged the Scottish Government to reject what we consider an unnecessary over-reach in the report.
In doing so, we were mindful of Pope Francis’ reminder of the current risk of States drifting into an ideological totalitarianism that promotes intolerance towards dissent from certain positions that are regarded as representing “progress” but, in fact, would lead to a regression of humanity in the violation of freedom of thought and conscience.
Bishop John Keenan | Diocese of Paisley
If you want like to explore some of our other articles around this subject please click on the links below.
https://www.maryswell.net/post/marriage-and-the-bride-of-christ
https://www.maryswell.net/post/homosexuality-ssa-and-the-call-to-chastity
https://www.maryswell.net/post/a-peek-inside-a-courage-meeting-by-elena-feick
Plus here find a video from Fr Mike Schmidt of Ascension Presents on some of the Churches teaching:
The Saints we would like to highlight for the next few weeks include:
St Erchard - 24th August
St Aidan - 30th August
Go to our website for more information.