“If homosexuality is what I’m telling you — fear and personal dissatisfaction — when you practice it you end up locking yourself into your homosexuality, making the wounds worse, becoming more insecure and dependent, perhaps more obsessive. So I understand that the Church isn’t wrong with her teaching,” he stressed.
Living the faith as same-sex attracted
Gonzales said that on Holy Thursday 2013 he felt the personal call of Jesus to change his life.
Since then, he has been able to move forward with “friendships with members of the Church, with people who experience the same thing I do. What I manage to do is make friends with people who also come around seeking to be consoled. Thus I find joy in this apostolate, which helps me to live my faith.”
In addition, he stressed, “I’m a man of Mass and daily Communion.”
Gonzales shared that at Mass, “I encounter Jesus in a very special way. I can listen to him in the Gospel, see him in the Consecration, and touch him when I receive Communion.”
“I don’t neglect prayer, I try to always stay in relationship with him, especially eucharistic adoration,” he added.
“I have a priest who accompanies me spiritually. Thanks to him, I can say that the Church has never abandoned me,” Gonzales said.
Message to those with homosexual tendencies
Asked about the message he could give to people with homosexual tendencies, Gonzales said: “There’s no reason to be sad. Don’t feel unworthy; the Lord loves you madly and has your names written in heaven. Let’s carry our cross with peace and joy, moving forward.”
“Don’t be afraid but trust in [the Lord]; nothing is beyond him,” he added.
(Story continues below)
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The young Peruvian photographer also emphasized that “Jesus comes to heal everything — he’s the one most interested in our happiness. It’s possible to experience homosexual tendencies and be saints. [Jesus] calls us to that.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com