Free essays - The Church and gay, lesbian The Catholic Church loves LGBT people with a deep love, just as it loves all its other children. Several organizations within the church have as their primary purpose the delivery of the Gospel to LGBT people. We are all sacred creations of God and therefore deserve respect based on our human nature. This essay deals with the Church's commitment to raising awareness in this area. In the rite of baptism, the liturgy joyfully proclaims: "You are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus." Today, lesbian and gay Catholics remind the Church that they too were baptized. Many are beginning to claim their membership in the body of Christ and the Church. As baptized people, Catholic lesbians and gays share the rights of all the baptized: "to receive the sacraments, to be nourished by the Word of God and to be supported by the other spiritual helps of the Church" (Catechism). There are an ever-increasing number of Catholic lesbians and gays and homosexuals are reconsidering the Catholic Church, which they thought had previously rejected them totally and definitively. Many are discovering a new spirit of understanding in the Church: «[I]t seems appropriate to understand sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) as a profound dimension of personality and to recognize its relative stability in a person. Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. In itself, therefore, homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, since morality presupposes freedom of choice. The teaching of the Church makes it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual people must be defended and we must all strive to eliminate any form of injustice, oppression or violence against them" (Pastoral). sensitivity'" (Catechism par.2358, Semper 6,9) The US bishops expressed their welcome to lesbian and gay people in 1976, and repeated it in 1991: "Homosexual [people, like everyone else, should not suffer of prejudice against their fundamental human rights. They have the right to respect, friendship and justice. They should have an active role in the Christian community. (Living) Today, many dioceses and parishes invite lesbian and gay Catholics to take active roles in the Christian community. Outreach ministries and pastoral services welcome lesbian and gay Catholics to share their gifts with the entire Church.