The thin Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers, born in France, learned within the Dominican Order to "experience fraternity with homosexual brothers," calling himself "a heterosexual brother." He wrote the preface to the book "Gays and Catholics: The Church Tested by Reality," published on Outreach.faith on May 13. The cardinal's main statements and assertions, including his usual victimhood, are as follows:
- One day, when a gay brother told me, "No one chooses to be gay," my eyes were finally opened. That was my road to Damascus.
- Homosexuality is not an illness, and there are no chemical or psychological treatments.
- It is not a sin because sin is committed freely, and "no one chooses to be gay."
- Nor is it the result of educational or social conditioning: within the same family, where siblings have received the same upbringing, one child may be gay while the others are not.
Homosexuality is neither normal nor abnormal.
- Although social acceptance does not make someone gay, it makes it easier to recognize and share one's sexuality, allowing one to live one's emotional life with the greatest possible serenity.
- There is no obvious reason for homosexuality, and we must accept this. an element of ignorance regarding God's creative work.
- Homosexuality is not normal, and in that sense it is abnormal—provided, of course, that abnormal is not the opposite of normal.
- I like the definition given by James Alison [a former homosexual priest and former Dominican], which places homosexuality within the order of creation and not within disorder or pathology.
The document 'Fiducia Supplicans' changes everything.
- I don't believe that the intention of "Fiducia Supplicans" was merely to allow a "secret" blessing of same-sex couples, as it has sometimes been understood. In my opinion, the extreme pastoral—and ultimately doctrinal—value of this text lies in the reminder that God blesses all his creatures, regardless of their circumstances.
- By authorizing its ministers to impart this blessing in the name of the Church, the text changes everything.
- It is wonderful that homosexual people, whatever their state in life, can receive this blessing.
Image: Jean-Paul Vesco © Mazur, CC BY-NC-ND, Translation