Bill 13 Same Sex Attraction- Views from catholic youth

Dear Readers,

As you may know Bill 13, the anti bullying bill, has passed and is now legislation. The government has ignored the Bishops recommendations and have legislated that students can call their groups  GSA or gay straight alliances.   To fully understand the impact of this legislation it is important that you read an article written by a young woman who is a both as same sex attraction individual as well as a christian.
I found this article speaks to the issue well and puts in words what cannot often be explained but is known in the heart.  Enjoy.

6 June 10, 2012 1 catholicregister.org
BY BRONWYT LAWRE
Youth Speak News
There’s plenty of well-reasoned
discourse on all sides of the current
debate around Ontario’s new antibullying
legislation — but some
thing’s missing. The voices that I
have not heard in the debate are
those of teens and youths dealing
with same-sex attraction who want
to live in conformity with God and
His Church.
I can’t speak for anyone except
myself — but as
a person who
was bullied, and
a person who
has dealt with
Same-sex at
traction, 1 think
I can offer a
few thoughts.
I returned to
the Church last fall, after 13 years
away. In addition to excellent
pastoral support, a welcoming
parish community and, of course,
God’s grace, one of the biggest
reasons I stayed in the Church
after my return was the Church’s
teaching on sexuality
That might sound a bit strange
considering I was the director of
my campus’s LGBTTQ Pride col
lective at the time. But rather than
defining me solely by gender, or
who I was attracted to, or whether I
preferred fixing cars to tatting lace,
I found that the Church defined me
by one overarching principle: I am
a child of God, created in His own
image and likeness, and loved infi
nitely by Him. By counter-cultur
ally distinguishing between sexual
desire and sexual act, between act
and identity, the Church refused
to let me reduce my identity to a
simplistic summation of sexuality.
it is for this reason that most
Church documents (including
the “Respecting Difference”
report) use the term “persons with
same-sex attraction” in instances
where other groups would use gay,
queer or homosexual. It affirms
that although desire may be a part
of my identity and although my
actions shape my character and my
path towards or away from God, I
am infinitely more than my actions
and feelings.
As I returned to the Church,
walking into the Pride office began
to feel like a form of reductionism
— an implicit assent to the idea
that the most important aspects of
my personhood were my sexuality
and my gender. The Catholic chap
laincy gradually became a refuge
for me — a place where I could
shed the political labels of being
“gay” or “trans” or “queerL” Instead,
I could simply be human.
I eventually resigned as co-ordi
nator, left the Pride collective and
started looking for other Chris
tians who’d embarked on similar
walks towards God. Still, I fall all
too often and need His mercy to
pick me back up. But I know that
God loves me and all those who
have dealt with same-sex attraction
without equivocation and without
compromise.
This is why, as a Catholic, I
cannot in good conscience support
a club flame that would reduce
students’ identities to a simplis
tic definition of who they may or
may not want to sleep with. All
schools — Catholic and secular
— undoubtedly need better antibullying
measures and support
groups for all students, Taking a
stand against bullying can only
start with dubs (and names) that
recognize the inherent dignity and
worth of all human beings.
This is not homophobia. This is
not hatred. This is an attempt, as
best I know, to love.
(Lawrie, 20, is a creative writing
major at the University of Victoria.)
SPEAKJNG OUT
Anti-bullying clubs should
recognize the dignity of all
Bronwyn Lawrie