In recent weeks, both Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich and Drachma invited the Church to rethink its teaching on homosexuality. Hollerich, president of COMECE, the organisation of bishops of EU member states and the relator general of the Synod of Bishops, did so in an interview with the Catholic News Agency. Drachma, a local organisation for parents of gay children, in a recently published book – Naqqaxtek fuq il-pali ta’ jdejja – argues that the Bible cannot be used to condemn homosexuality.

Hollerich said that he considered the Church’s teaching that same-gender relationships are sinful, to be wrong.

“I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer correct,” Hollerich said.

Homosexuality was once considered by medical professionals as a perversion. Nowadays, it is considered to be another normal way of celebrating sex.

Hollerich explained his position further:

“What was condemned in the past was sodomy. At that time, it was thought that the whole child was contained in the sperm of the man and that thinking was simply transferred to homosexual men. But there is no homosexuality in the New Testament. There is only the mention of homosexual acts, which were partly pagan ritual acts. That was, of course, forbidden. I think it is time for a fundamental revision of the doctrine.”

The head of the association of EU Catholic bishops said it was important for the Church to remain humane.

No clear condemnation in Bible – Drachma

Naqqaxtek fuq il-pali ta’ jdejja tackles what it describes as “what the Bible says, or does not say, about homosexuality”. Its basic interpretative key is that, even if certain Biblical texts seemingly disapprove of homosexuality, such texts have to be understood in their historic and cultural context which is radically different from ours. The Biblical setting was deprived of the knowledge about sexuality and homosexuality, which different sciences give us today.

The book then uses this perspective to examine the six texts in the Bible that are considered to condemn homosexuality. These include three quotes from the Old Testament, mainly the story of Sodom and two quotes from Leviticus, as well as three quotes from three different letters of St Paul.

It also discusses the first two chapters of Genesis as the reference to “man and female God created them” and its use by Jesus has been interpreted as a clear indication that the intention of the Creator is clearly in favour of heterosexual relationships, not homosexual ones.

I never realised that the gay community is made to suffer so much- Fr Joe Borg

This commentary is not the place to discuss the validity or otherwise of the reasons given. However, just a taster of the book’s line of thought communicates well the drift of the book. Regarding the Sodom incident, the book quotes a document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission stating that the issue was lack of hospitality not homosexuality.

The Leviticus condemnation, the authors argue, is about ritual, not moral, cleanliness. Besides, Leviticus has myriad other condemnations which we do not consider to be valid today. Regarding St Paul’s quotes, the book holds that he was condemning pederasty not homosexual relations between a couple in love.

Christ never said anything about homosexuality and, one should remember, the authors say, that the Bible was used to justify the inferiority of women, slavery, capital punishments and religious wars, among many other things. If the Church changed its teaching on all these subjects, why not on homosexuality?

Such developments cannot be described as a humiliating U-turn. Our understanding of human nature is dynamic, as is our understanding of the applicability of the Word of God to concrete situations. It is reasonable that, when humanity deepens its understanding of human nature, the Church reflects on this new understanding and, if need be, reacts by developing its moral appraisal of the relevant human actions.

Need for respectful dialogue

Drachma’s book is well written and referenced. This does not necessarily mean that its assessment is the correct one. Others (as well as the official Church position) give a totally different interpretation. This is the nature of academic works. They do not say the final word but add a word to the debate, in this case it is a useful word.

The book treats the Bible texts with great respect and is not tainted by any fundamentalist or self-righteous bigotry.

The biggest value of the book is that it is another cri de coeur by Drachma to engage in respectful dialogue with the rest of the Christian community, a need felt by many even outside the gay community.  A study just published by Discern, the Curia’s research arm, found that participants in their study generally argued that the Church should adopt an unambiguously pro-gay position. Such a dialogue must be pursued whether the Bible condemns homosexuality or not.

Those interested in this dialogue should try to read Uliedna Rigal, a book published by the Drachma Parents Group in 2016.

That book was dedicated to those parents who lost a gay son or daughter because they committed suicide. It addressed and answered 50 practical questions faced by parents of gay children and presented a number of true, moving stories of parents and individuals who had to face their gender orientation or that of their children.

The book was for me an eye-opener. I never realised that the gay community is made to suffer so much. Though it revealed a lot of suffering, it had no hint of bitterness or anger.

Such an open attitude is the right approach to the fruitful and respectful dialogue, such as being proposed by Hollerich and Naqqaxtek fuq il-pali ta’ jdejja.

Drachma can be contacted on 9945 4581, on drachmaparents@gmail.com or through their Facebook page.