Steve Gershom and 'coming out' - as a human.

I think I link to Gershom - he identifies as a 'gay' Catholic only for convenience - or to make things easier to comprehend - but he's really ssa.  Not that it matters to me.

Gershom seems to be a popular spokesperson for ssa Catholics in Catholic social media, radio, and the parish lecture circuit.  He's young and committed to Catholic teaching and spiritual life, something not exactly common amongst young gay men.  Therefore, he is an important voice in Catholic life - or, the 'new' evangelization.  (That term is getting old with me.)

Gershom wrote a rather intelligent response to some things a priest, Fr. Meier, had to say on HuffPo.  A piece that would have been a 'click-by' for me, Gershom took the time to read, and I liked very much what he had to say in his response: (If you want context, go here - I have to get back to work.)

The truly Christian point of view is not that none of us are sinful, diseased, or damaged, but that all of us are. We are called to love damaged people — that is to say, everyone — not by pretending that disease is health, but by recognizing that the damaged person is not identified with his damage.

So we love people who commit adultery, but we don’t call their adultery “one of the infinite ways God’s love can be manifested in our world,” and we don’t stop at identifying them as Adulterers. We love people who are chronically tempted to abuse alcohol, but we don’t tell them that their alcoholism is “a life-giving gift,” and we don’t stop at identifying them as Alcoholics.

The last time I called myself a homosexual, my spiritual director asked me: Are you in a romantic or sexual relationship with another man? Do you visit gay bars or bathhouses? Do you habitually view gay pornography? Do you purposely indulge in gay fantasies? Since the answer to every question was “No,” he replied: “Then I’m sorry to tell you, Steve — as a homosexual, you’re a terrible failure.”

I hope Father Meier is a terrible failure as a homosexual, too. I hope he honors his vow of chastity, even if he has ceased to honor the Magisterium. I hope he has people in his life who love him enough that they will not permit him to reduce his identity to a set of urges.

And I hope he learns one day that to be damaged, whether by homosexuality or alcoholism or depression or any other disorder, is not to be diminished in dignity. It is to be human. - Source

All I can say to that is - Awesome!  Steve Gershom is blessed with wisdom beyond his years.  Lord grant him the grace to grow in wisdom, grace and knowledge, and to persevere in doing God's will.  God bless him.