Question:
Answer:
This is a sensitive area, and you are to be commended for your commitment to support and fulfill the Church’s teaching. The answer to both questions is no.
The reason homosexual acts are wrong is not simply that they take place outside of marriage, but that they are contrary to natural design. For various reasons, both inside and outside of their control, some people have desires that are not in accord with nature. When these desires are acted upon, the result is an unnatural and immoral act. Even if two homosexuals were “married,” they would still be having unnatural sex.
The Church cannot change its teaching on marriage, which is grounded in natural law. Under natural law a man can marry only whom he was designed to marry: a woman. He cannot validly marry another man any more than he could an animal or a plant. Any attempted marriage between a man and another man would be invalid by definition. It might be recognized by the state as a legitimate marriage, but it would not be so before God.
This is a difficult teaching to hear for one struggling with homosexual desires, but it is the truth. To get help, consider contacting Courage, a nationwide Catholic organization set up to help homosexuals lead chaste lives. Their Web address of is: http://couragerc.net. Our prayers are with you.