Saturday, November 5, 2011

COMMENTARY: Christians Can Learn Lesson from Devilish Column in "The Pilot"

"The Pilot," the Archdiocese of Boston's official weekly newspaper -- and the oldest Roman Catholic newspaper in the United States -- gained worldwide attention this week, as a result of one of its columnist's writing in last week's issue that the devil may be responsible for gay attraction.

Daniel Avila -- who was policy adviser for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) until yesterday (November 4) when he resigned -- had written in "The Pilot" that "the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil."

Needless to say, Avila's statement on the devil stunned many readers of "The Pilot." Moreover, it infuriated gays and lesbians, who considered Avila's statement to be an unfair and untrue assessment of their lifestyle.

"The Pilot" retracted Avila's statement, and Avila apologized to its readers for writing it this week. But the damage had already been done, and Avila was forced to resign his position at the USCCB on November 4.

There is an important lesson for all Christians to learn from this scenario. It is that we must not judge and condemn the lifestyle of others, even though we may not approve of that lifestyle ourselves.

Christ would want us to love our fellow brothers -- regardless of their lifestyle -- rather than condemning them.

Indeed, Christ's final words while He was crucified, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," clearly illustrates His forgiveness and love of humanity.

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