Reading John Witt’s article “SLU powerbrokers ignore Catholic beliefs” (The University News, Dec. 7), it is obvious that the author himself “fundamentally misunder-stands” Catholic teaching.

Objecting to a plan to open a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center on campus, Witt claims that such a center would be contrary to Catholic teaching. His rationale is based solely on the Catholic Church’s condemnation of homosexual acts. He makes out the proposed resource center, designed for “support and information on GLBT issues,” to be some sort of sexual playground.

Witt equates “support and information on GLBT issues” with promoting homosexual activity, an egregious logical error. His selective interpretation of Catholic teaching is severely misguided.

For example, Witt writes that a homosexual lifestyle is completely at odds with and directly contrary to Catholic teaching. In fact, Catholic teaching allows for homosexual persons of faith. Generally, official teaching requires that homosexual people abstain from sex. However, the Church also teaches that people must carefully and responsibly form their conscience, and follow that conscience as their moral guide.

Accordingly, after reflection and prayer, homosexual Catholics have formed consciences that differ from official Church teaching and have entered into homosexual relationships as faithful Catholics.

The American Bishops, in Human Sexuality, wrote “Like heterosexual persons, homosexual men and women are called to give witness to chastity, avoiding, with God’s grace, behavior that is wrong for them, just as nonmarital sexual relations are wrong for heterosexual men and women.” As the Church only allows for sex in the context of married, heterogeneous couples, should SLU stop offering pregnancy and STD testing and information to unmarried students? Do such services encourage and endorse a lifestyle at odds with Catholic teaching?

Witt’s gross misunder-standing of Catholic teaching on homosexuality only highlights the need for a GLBT center on campus.

Greg Cooper
Senior
Parks College of Engineering, Aviation & Technology