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Archbishop of Denver Backs General Pace on belief that Homosexual Acts are Immoral

By Gudrun Schultz

DENVER, Colorado, March 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - General Peter Pace deserves respect for saying homosexual acts are immoral, Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in his column this week in the Denver Catholic Register.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Pace received heavy criticism from the media and homosexual activist groups, as well as some members of Congress, for his comments last week against homosexuality.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Gen. Pace said, "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well-served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

The chairman's statement was a simple declaration of traditional morality, Archbishop Chaput said, and one held by a majority of Americans.

"Note that Pace did not say that, "homosexual persons are evil," the Archbishop wrote. "He said that homosexual acts are wrong. And of course he's right. We might question the general's choice to comment in the context he did, but not his content. He simply stated the Western moral tradition. We should respect his courage for saying it."

"Every human being has an inalienable dignity as an image of God. But as part of that dignity, we also have free will, and our choices - our behaviors - create wholeness or havoc around us, depending on their moral content."

The Archbishop pointed out that Pace's comments did not necessarily reflect a uniquely Christian point of view, saying the impact of human sexuality has profound social implications in shaping culture since sexual behaviour always impacts others, directly or indirectly.

"The only thing strange about [Gen. Pace's] remarks was the theatrical wave of shock they generated from critics," he stated. "In fact, with the good exception of Sen. Sam Brownback and some others, many members of Congress scrambled to criticize Gen. Pace--despite the moral beliefs of the people who elected them."

Archbishop Chaput attributed the uproar over the general's comments to the "sexual confusion" at the top of U.S. society that "now has an echo in every corner of American life."

He identified the multi-billion dollar pornography industry as laying at the heart of the modern crisis in sexuality, calling it the "biggest single environmental crisis we face," one that "pours garbage into our homes every day through the Web and other media."

"Pornography is never 'innocent entertainment,' no matter how private it might seem. It turns human beings into objects. It coarsens our appetites. It darkens our ability to see real human beauty. It creates impossible expectations about sexual intimacy. It kills enduring romance and friendship between the sexes. And ultimately it's a lie and a cheat. Pornography is a cheap, quick, empty copy of the real thing - the real joy of sexual intimacy shared by a man and woman who have joined their lives in a loving marriage."

The archbishop praised the initiatives of two Catholic bishops in combating pornography in their dioceses, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, in Montana, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas.

"We can't do much to fix the sexual confusion at the top of our society, beyond writing to our elected officials and demanding candidates who will advance our convictions when the time comes to vote," Archbishop Chaput wrote in closing. "But we can do a lot about the poison in our homes and local communities. Pornography is poison. It should be controlled like any other toxic waste. And don't be fooled. This isn't "censorship." It's a matter of public health and common sense."

Read Archbishop Chaput's full column in The Denver Catholic Register:
http://www.archden.org/dcr/news.php?e=411&s=2&a=8636

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

General Pace - Chair of US Joint Chiefs of Staff: "homosexual acts…are immoral"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07031304.html

Senators Clinton, Obama, say "Homosexuality is Moral" While Brownback Publicly Supports General Pace
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07031606.html

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