Phoenix, Ariz., May 26, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Bishop James Olmsted of Phoenix issued a letter on the dos and don’ts in providing pastoral care to homosexuals in the most recent issue of The Catholic Sun. The letter is the second in the bishop’s series of columns on the Christian meaning of sexuality and chastity, called “Blessing of a Chaste Life.”
The bishop indicated four dos and three don’ts.
Catholics must know about the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. They should inform themselves by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, as well as recommended books on the topic, such as those by Fr. John Harvey.
Catholics should accept people “who have homosexual inclinations as brothers and sisters in Christ and support them by authentic love and prayer,” he said.