Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Ex-Gays vs. Ex-Ex-Gays

From California Catholic Daily:
Rival conferences explore appropriate Catholic response to homosexuality

Rival ex-gay-related conferences are taking place simultaneously this week in Irvine. One is the five-day long Exodus Freedom Conference being held at Concordia University from June 26 to July 1. The other is the Ex-Gay Survivors' Conference -- organized by Soulforce and Beyond Ex-Gay -- which is meeting just down the road at the University of California at Irvine from June 29 to July 1.

Exodus is promoting a therapeutic approach, offering hope that men and women can receive "freedom in Christ" to walk away from homosexuality. The Survivors' conference directly disputes this, claiming that homosexuality is God-given (or natural), and that ex-gay ministries do emotional and spiritual harm to their intended beneficiaries.

Pretty simple? Team Ex-Gay vs. Team Ex-Ex-Gay? Not so fast. There are several more layers of complexity.
. . .
According to Fr. John Harvey, founder of Courage, his orthodox Catholic ministry for people with same-sex attraction focuses on chastity rather than a change in orientation. Many men and women may not develop an interest in the opposite sex, Fr. Harvey told Zenit news agency, "but, strengthened by prayer and the sacraments, they have can avoid sexual sin and enjoy deep, enduring friendships ruled by the love of Christ."

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