Let me start with a prayer: "Lord, let my arguments be eloquent, even if You apparently don't agree with me." Now, with that said, I would like to make a few comments on Doug Zabrowski's March 8 Viewpoint, which I found to be insensitive and judgmental against Marquette's gay, lesbian, and bisexual and transgender, or GLBT community.
First of all, it is not our duty as humans to judge other peoples' actions. Jesus himself says this in Matthew 22, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" If Jesus is, as we believe, the living God, then we should consider these words as God's most important expectations of us. Part of the commandment to love God is to love all things that God has created — exactly as He created it. This means not criticizing His creations as flawed, or needing improvement. It is God who decides when a person is flawed. It is God who judges people, not people who judge God. It seems to me that while God inspires basic Christian principles, even the Scriptures themselves, Christian dogma lies primarily in the ideas of men. Therefore, it is men who say that homosexuality is abnormal and sinful. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that sound like humans doing God's job?
Zabrowski continued his point by suggesting that any homosexual programs on campus should be private, small and quiet. I don't know about everyone else, but to me, this sounds like AA for homosexuals. The goal of AA is, quite obviously, to help alcoholics quit drinking through counseling and group support. Homosexuality is not a psychological or behavioral disease. Nor is sexuality a behavior one chooses, as drinking is. If sexuality were a choice, I'm sure that many would choose the more socially accepted, and less stigmatized option: to live a heterosexual lifestyle. Unfortunately, there is no choice.
Modern psychologists have determined that a person's sexuality is determined by both internal and environmental factors beyond the realm of choice. A point of clarification: I'm not saying I approve of the flamboyant lifestyle that is often associated with homosexuality, or the same behavior in heterosexuals. What I'm talking about are people seriously committed to each other in intimate, caring relationships. A great hope I have for each person in this world is that he or she may share his or her self with another. It is one of the greatest gifts God has given us — to love another person. God himself hopes for us to share in intimate partnership with our brothers and sisters.
In my opinion, what Marquette needs to do is to listen. Listen to the needs of students who are LGBT and listen to students who are confused about their sexuality. We are called to accept and love all types of people. That's what gives us a Catholic identity — and that's what the Church is about.
Kathryn Meister is a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences.
This viewpoint appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 5 2005.