By Nicholas Soellner
Special to The Message
In the modern discussions concerning human nature, ethics and our relationships with one another, there is a clear and almost overwhelming emphasis on sexuality. Setting aside the issue of morality, let's take a closer look at the labels so often used in our culture today: what they capture and what they do not. The terms lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, intersex and asexual all refer to identification based on one’s experience of sexual orientation and/or gender. It's not that the terminology is incorrect, but that it doesn't say enough. The labels assigned or adopted in these kinds of conversations limit the most important part of our identity to our sexuality, often even as narrow as what we feel in terms of sexual attraction (or lack thereof). Contrast this with the name you received from your parents. The names “Kevin” and “Julia,” are also akin to labels but reveal very little about the person being addressed. There are hundreds of thousands of people who share these names, but they are so varied in differences of body type, behavior, personality, political preferences, worldview and lifestyle that you can glean next to nothing from the name itself.
One of the major problems with LGBTQIA+ labels is that there’s no longer room left for the mystery of the person! A hyper-sexualized view of the human person — including heterosexuality — falls into a similar moral error as one of the errors of pornography: “The problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little” (St. John Paul II). Sexual labels tend to imply that the only way, or maybe the only important way, we are to be identified is through our sexuality. But surely we can see that there is more to us than that. There is an infinite depth to every single person that we have to learn to appreciate and honor.
In his work concerning the Theology of the Body, St. John Paul II wrote, “The body reveals the person … Science can examine our flesh in minute detail, down to our cells and even our DNA. But no amount of scientific exploration can replace the truth that our bodies reveal us (emphasis mine), giving form to our innermost being and unique personality. Our bodies are sacramental — they make the invisible visible.” Of course, we cannot forget that we are fallen creatures, still haunted by the wounds of original sin. In order to see our bodies as sacramental, we have to order our desires, thoughts and actions towards the One who made us.
So are there acceptable labels that capture our design as God desires? Once, when in an interview, Mother Teresa was asked her opinion regarding the relationship of those experiencing same-sex attraction to the Catholic Church, to which she replied, “You mean beloved children of God?” She continued to correct the reporter any time he tried to refer to them by any other term. This should be our perspective in our conversations regarding discussions concerning not just those with same-sex attraction, but all issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. Just as St. John writes in the New Testament, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John. 3:2). We are children of God, and the pursuit of the Christian life is that we might imitate Christ, the Son of God, in our thoughts, words and actions. We are children of God through baptism, we are called to accept this identity and allow it to shape the way we live.
For years, those experiencing same-sex attraction have heard clearly, “This is what not to do” but have been starving for “This is what we should do.” The answer is ultimately the same as Mary told the servants at the wedding of Cana, “Whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). All the faithful — regardless of their experience of sexual orientation and/or gender — are called to lead lives in fidelity to the Gospel, in service to one another, and loving in authentic and chaste relationships that respect the dignity of each person. This is where true joy is found — the joy that we were made for. Perhaps we need to look beyond the labels and see each person, made magnificently by God and fashioned for eternity itself.
Nicholas Soellner is program manager for the Diocese of Evansville Office of Catechesis.