Gay-rights era has challenged church

THE CATHOLIC Charities-gay adoption controversy is emblematic of the real problem: the church's inability to deal with homosexuality within its ranks and, indeed, its own twisted view of sexuality.

The gay rights era has been tough on the church. And the church has resisted it in every way it can, often with disastrous results. The church's way of dealing with its unnatural view of sex is to blame others, saying gay parents do violence to children, calling homosexuality disordered, and removing gay seminarians from their studies.

Is the world ever going to get any less gay? Are more people around the world going to go back in the closet?

In the long run, the pullout of Catholic Charities will be OK because adoption cases will be absorbed by other agencies. This must be seen as a short-term cost for a society moving forward to protect its entire citizenry from bigotry. But I am prayerful that the church will evolve to embrace the sexualities of its constituents, so that it, like its lay members, may become more loving and compassionate each day.

CHIP BRADISH
Newbury