The goal of the document was exactly the opposite, according to Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, spokesperson for USCCB.,”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' approval of the "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care," is being criticized by some for discriminating against gay Catholics.

The goal of the document was exactly the opposite, according to Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for USCCB.

The document, approved Nov. 15 by a margin of 194-37 by the body of the conference, details guidelines intended to assist bishops and priests who minister to gay Catholics.

The document states that people with homosexual inclinations should be accepted with respect and compassion. It condemns all forms of violence or discrimination against gay people and encourages their participation in the church.

"We want them to feel welcome," Walsh said.

According to Nicole Soleto, spokeswoman for Call to Action, a progressive Catholic group, the document does not welcome the gay community.

"This document pushes Catholic gays away from the faith community," she said.

Criticism of the church's approach comes primarily from its characterization of homosexuality as disordered.

"The homosexual inclination is objectively disordered, i.e., it is an inclination that predisposes one toward what is truly not good for the human person," according to a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church cited in the newly approved document.

This characterization, according to Soleto, will drive many gay Catholics away because it says something is intrinsically wrong with them.

The majority of psychologists do not regard homosexuality as a disorder, Soleto said.

The Rev. Bob Marsicek, priest at St. Pius X in Wauwatosa, said he fears that the document may drive Catholics away.

"The church has been much more open in the past and I am afraid that this document does not leave enough leeway for gay Catholics to be ministered to," he said.

But Soleto said she believes gay Catholics will continue to work with the church.

"I think that many gays will continue to work for healing and justice under the church structure," she said.

According to Walsh, people overlook the fact that the church is opposed to discrimination and violence against gays.

"We want people not to make someone's sexual orientation an issue in the community," she said.

The document reiterates the Church's teaching that a man and woman fit together as a union in God's creative design and that the purpose of sexual desire is to draw man and woman together in the bond of marriage. The document also states that sexual acts reach their proper fulfillment in marriage.

It states that homosexual acts violate the true purpose of sexuality because they are not open to life.

According to Walsh, sexual acts should be between a man and a woman and anything else is "forbidden."

"One cannot decide if they are gay or not but they can choose whether or not to act on it," she said.

The document states that sexual homosexual attraction itself is not sinful; it is only if people act on those attractions.

According to Soleto, the bishops should look at the issue from another point of view.

"It is very sad that the bishops find these sexual acts sinful because we believe that human sexuality is a gift from God," she said.

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