Daniel Mattson

Because the sex scandals of the Church are overwhelmingly homosexual, the Church can no longer risk ordaining men with homosexual inclinations in the hopes that those inclinations turn out to be transitory.  Continue Reading »

In my last essay at First Things , I echoed the words of Pope Benedict writing about the pastoral care of the homosexual person by saying, “only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.”  Rev. Wojciech Giertych , O.P., the Theologian of the Papal Household, last week echoed the words . . . . Continue Reading »

When considering the pastoral language the Church should use in speaking about homosexuality, the guiding principle must be what then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about the subject in 1986, writing as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.” … Continue Reading »

All of us have a longing to be fully known: by ourselves, by others, and by God. Fundamental to Christian thought is this: We can only know ourselves fully when we know ourselves as we are known by God. As Gaudium et Spes teaches, “In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear.” … Continue Reading »

Joshua Gonnerman wrote a provocative piece for this column, “Dan Savage Was Right.” What began as an advocacy for the Church to become family for the homosexual community soon became a discussion of the validity of Gonnerman’s matter of fact description of himself as “a Christian who is committed to chastity and who is also gay.” His piece went viral within the Christian blogosphere, and as a result, Gonnerman wrote a follow-up piece, “Why I Call Myself a Gay Christian.” … Continue Reading »