Pro-homosexual activists working inside the Catholic Church used to ask for pastoral openness as a means to gain sympathy for their cause. They knew that as long as Church doctrine defined homosexual acts as intrinsically disordered and gravely sinful, they were limited to cries for “inclusion” and “welcome.”
Now, however, activists are openly calling for doctrinal change. Inclusion is not enough. Catholics must accept and cherish homosexual relationships as good and normal.
Attacking Pope Leo XIV
Such demands surfaced when Pope Leo XIV recently said that doctrinal change was “highly unlikely, certainly in the near future.” In reply, “queer theologian” Ish Ruiz showed the true face of the movement’s rage with his article, “‘Not in the Near Future’ Is not Good Enough for LGBTQ+ Catholics.”
The article appeared in the misnamed National Catholic Reporter, a media outlet that regularly publishes unorthodox commentaries from leading figures of the Catholic left. The article leaves no doubt as to where the movement wants to go. Activists want the Church to change its immutable teaching. They want gravely sinful actions to no longer be considered so. Ruiz claims they should not settle for anything less. The Gospel timeline is now.
“No matter how loudly we proclaim ‘todos, todos, todos’ to try to welcome LGBTQ+ people, postponing doctrinal reform perpetuates our rejection. It suggests that LGBTQ+ Catholics may be seen but not fully embraced, welcomed but never celebrated, included but always conditionally.”
Never Satisfied with Concessions
Like all leftist movements, the homosexual one is never satisfied with concessions. It always demands more. Ruiz wants “the full bread of communion.” Ruiz asks that their identities “be cherished as integral parts of the Catholic story.” He further claims that the full spirit of synodality supports the claim for full inclusion. Anything less is a parody of how “the Spirit” acts.
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The activist adds a sense of urgency to his demands. The time of polite listening and partial welcome must end. Those who engage in these sinful activities must be seen not as guests but as family. They must be trusted as people with wisdom. “Our loves are holy, our lives bear fruit, and our dignity is God-given,” Ruiz affirms.
An Appeal to Victimhood
He repeats the unproven narrative that the Church’s position is harmful and “hurtful” since it contributes to the depression, stress and suicide tendencies of those involved in these sinful relationships.
The call to victimhood fits into the class struggle dialectic that is so much a part of revolutionary lore. The only acceptable thing is to “demand the impossible,” which in this case is doctrinal change.
The Role of the Radicals
Homosexual activists are using classical leftist tactics. Indeed, the radicals serve a purpose in the overall fight, especially in overcoming moderate objections.
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In his book, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira writes that the role of the explosive extremists is to raise a standard toward which the more moderate people gradually make their way. The radicals create a fixed target “whose very radicalism fascinates the moderates, who slowly advance toward it.”
Opposing Radical Extremism
While the radicals help move their revolution forward, they can also provoke wholesome reactions when radical goals that the left usually hides are exposed. People then become aware of a threatening agenda and can raise formidable obstacles.
Prof. Corrêa de Oliviera notes that counter-revolutionaries must “unmask the whole face of the Revolution in order to exorcise the spell it casts upon its victims.”
That is why Catholics must take this threat to Church teaching seriously. This is not hyperbole. Activists like Ruiz are saying it openly in a publication that is (mis)labelled Catholic. He expects no pushback from Church officials, which indicates some degree of complicity.
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The radical statements of Ish Ruiz, demanding doctrinal change, must serve to alert Catholics that the real goal of the Catholic left in this matter is not pastoral, but to foment a revolution within the Church. Faithful Catholics must further expect that those who reject this demand will be isolated and ostracized.
A moral wrong can never be a civil right. What is sinful can never be declared holy. It is time to say no to these false demands. It must not be accepted, not now, not in the near future, not ever.
First published on TFP.org.
Photo Credit: TFP Student Action Europe