I had me a Blue Healer about 20 yes ago that came down with a cough that wouldn,t quit so I took her to my vet who proceeded to tell me that it can,t posebly be lung worms as there aren,t any fox in the hood and he turned a deaf ear when I told him that we take her camping with us all the time. So a grand later at my request or should I say I demanded that he check her for lung worms,because a dog can only get lung worms by eating the feces of a fox. So low and behold the test come back positive and he says the cattle wormer he has to give her will kill her or cure her and she has to spend a couple nights there so I said do it she,s gonna die for sure if you do nothing, 2 grand later I have my piece of family and my happy back. Now I don,t have much money but money isn,t what makes me happy, my dogs make me happy and I would have paid 3 times that amount. Now Sydney died of cancer at the age of 7 nothing I could do about that curse, and I,m never without a couple of dogs in my life. I live on 2 acres and great full for it and have lived here for 25 yrs so I have my own pet semetary of which I am honored to have. So Jennifer if you can,t put as much love into an animal as you would say yourself or family then I wouldn,t own an animal.

Maddy, first of all, I am a deacon in the Catholic Church. When I say "the Church", that's what I mean and only what I mean. What others say or promote is beyond my scope to comment on. And to the best of my ability, I am talking about what the Catholic Church teaches, not what individual members claim or others claim we say or do.

That said, the Church does NOT condemn anyone for being what they are. Absolutely does not. I defy anyone to quote to me from Catholic sources only where the Church does this.

We believe that all are called to chastity according to our state in life. In other words, no sex outside of marriage. We also believe that marriage is a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman. Therefore anyone who is attracted to members of the same sex is called to a life of celibacy. The Church also understands that this is a trial for them.

You can read this in paragraphs 2357-2359 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In paragraph 2357 the Church does call homosexual ACTS, not people, intrinsically disordered. This is in the sense that these acts are not naturally ordered to procreation and are contrary to natural law.

2358 recognizes that chastity is going to be a trial and then says the following:

"They (homosexual persons) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition."

Finally 2359 states the call to chasity as follows:

"Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection."

The Church expects the same of homosexual persons as She does of heterosexual persons. If you are not or cannot be married, you are called to not have sexual relations of any kind. What the Church condems is discrimination and unjust treatment of anyone and everyone, hetero and homosexuals alike.

So, yes, we recognize that homosexuals are treated harshly by others. And we do NOT approve or support it. Catholics who do are acting against the explicit teaching of the Church in these matters.

As for the rainbow sash, I am afraid that I do not agree that it's not meant to make a political statement or a prostest against Church positions and neither did the Archbishop in Minnesota. He never said those who wore the sashes were barred from Communion. It was that they could not wear the sashes to Communion. He did not think it appropriate as it sure seemed to be making a statement rather than just showing up to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord in Holy Communion.

Marriage a solely secular institution is a modern novelty, therefore it is not the Church who is politicizing it. We do not beleive or teach that anyone can marry a person of the opposite sex. This as been the case for all of human history until the last 15-20 years or so in this country at least. The momentum to change the definition of marriage seems to have picked up in that time frame. We do not seek to change the definition or expand or limit it. To us, it is what it is.

You say that love is love and that is what religion should be about. I agree. However, we obviously differ on how that works out. If I believe that anyone's sex outside of marriage is sinful, then in love and hope for the salvation of their souls, I urge them to stop and repent. That is true for any sin. The problem is that not everyone agrees on what is sin obviously.

Finally I reiterate that what individuals do that goes against their faith's teaching are in the wrong, no matter their status. Also, I hardly think that it's right to compare the Catholic Church's teachings on this to how gays are treated in an Islamist regime for instance. We have no control or say over how they treat anyone and we condemn their unjust practices just as we condemn unjust practices everywhere.