The Catholic Church's Program to Cure Gay People
Psychologists around the globe have almost universally condemned ex-gay therapy programs -- rogue "treatment" sessions often sponsored by religious groups to try and change one's sexual orientation from LGBT to heterosexual. The American Psychological Association (APA) even adopted a resolution this past summer that said ex-gay therapy programs were inadequate and potentially dangerous, especially for the long-term mental health of those victimized by such programs.
It's just too bad that the Catholic Church isn't listening to the global health professional community. Case in point, take the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which through its Office of Marriage and Family Life is supporting a type of ex-gay therapy program that asserts homosexuality is both treatable and preventable.
The program is called Courage, and it "ministers" to people who have same-sex attractions, as well as their loved ones. Part of that ministry includes drilling into peoples' brains that homosexuality is a mental disorder, that people in same-sex relationships will never find peace, and that people attracted to members of the same sex suffer from "sickness."
And the really scary part is that not only is this program alive and well in places like St. Paul and Minneapolis, but there are chapters in roughly 116 cities around the country, and even more worldwide. Sure, it's long been no secret that the Church harshes on same-sex marriage. But their active investment in conversion therapy programs signals a whole new level of homophobia, and a whole other level of ignorance when it comes to psychology and human sexuality.
What's particularly puzzling, and hinted at in this Star Tribune article, is that a few years ago there seemed to be somewhat of a pastoral tone between the Catholic Church and the larger LGBT population. The two have never been Laverne & Shirley or Harold & Kumar, but the rhetoric was certainly different in the late 1990s when the Bishops released a statement, "Always Our Children." This statement, while stilted in its understanding of human sexuality, at least called on parents to embrace their gay children and recognized how destructive ostracizing LGBT youth can be, particularly in regards to high rates of LGBT homelessness.
But what a difference a decade makes. The U.S. bishops have turned from their "Always Our Children" statement, and are now prepping a document to be released this month that says gay people threaten the inherent moral dignity of humanity. The Catholic Church has become one of the leading if not the most vocal proponents of ballot initiatives that take away civil rights for LGBT people. And the papacy has taken such a hard-line stance against LGBT people that they recently said they don't want gay folks even visiting the Vatican as tourists.
The sharp turn toward a more anti-gay Church is sad, and positively disaffecting for millions of Catholics in the pews who believe that there's nothing wrong with LGBT folks and that their civil rights should be respected. The Catholic Church's "Courage" program is the antithesis of that. In fact, it's a program that is anything but "courageous."
Instead, it's just a program that reinforces stereotypes about homosexuality that died in the 1970s. One has to wonder where the money comes to fund these types of programs, especially when Catholic schools are shutting down and Catholic parishes are shutting down. Is attempting to cure homosexuality -- a Sisyphus fight if there ever was one -- really a wise investment by the Church?
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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