Shane had this post on his blog. Here's my reply.
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wither sexuality...?

heya all... just something i was relfecting on, in light of my thesis. Some "facts" and questions regarding Catholic sexuality for you to ponder about... feel free to post your comments! Would go a long way into contributing to my thesis. *selfish grin*
Things that don't make sense to me:

(1) Contraception is BAD cos it's "unnatural" ,that is, it goes against God's great plan for procreation (which is what he made us for).
I mean, i've never questioned this cos i feel that the sanction on contraception is an injunction on the combination of logic between premarital-sex and accidental pregnancies, and personally just adds to the purity of my own life and teaches me utmost respect for another person's body (especially since there is a high tendency to treat it otherwise as a sex object).

The question is: If contraception is unnatural, then why are those with homosexual tendencies called to either (a) become straight, or (b) turn celibate? Isn't celibacy unnatural, as it goes against the natural procreation scheme that we were created for? why is it called a "gift" by the church then?

which leads to

(2) We were made man and woman; therefore homosexuality (same sex attraction) is unnatural and is a Sin. The Church does not acknowledge homosexuality as an opposition to heterosexuality, because that would imply man, woman, and gay as gender, which is a fallacy.

The question is: If homosexuality is a tendency for, or what is called SSA - Same Sex Attraction - then isn't heterosexuality merely an attraction for the opposite sex? If they're both notions of attraction, why is gender becoming an issue - ie. male and female = correct attraction? Isn' t this just a complication and overlap of contradicting notions of sexuality?
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First, we might want to question our understanding of what is "human nature". Human nature is made up of perhaps two parts: our physiology, and our intellect/will. I think the relevant part here is our intellect and will. It might be in our physiological nature to be violent animals, but I do not think that God will therefore want us to be violent.

My answer to your first question is that contraception is not strictly "unnatural", and that homosexuality is "unnatural" in the same sense that being a criminal is "unnatural".

We should not think that human nature dictates that we must procreate. It is not God's plan that everyone procreates, just like not everyone is meant to be an engineer. Instead, we can take up equally "natural" lifestyles by being married, single, or religious, just like how we can fulfil different life vocations. Contraception is unnatural only in the sense that in a family, the couple should always be open to procreation. Celibacy therefore is not unnatural because it is another legitimate lifestyle or "job".

Homosexuality is unnatural in that it does not fit either of these three categories. It is also unnatural because it perverts the actions of marriage into something else. It is like God has given us a choice of whatever job we want, but still being a criminal is not something that he would have wanted. We do not think that it is in the nature of someone to become a criminal. Likewise, the Church does not think that God creates people whose nature is to be homosexual. In this sense, homosexuality is "unnatural".

I'm not sure if your second questioned is resolved after this, but for me homosexuality is unnatural because it is sexual attraction directed at the wrong gender. It is everything about the issue of gender.

Post comments below!