11
Archdiocese of Denver
SEXUAL ATTRACTION
sex—and bisexual—attraction to both sexes."
6
Due to the very nature of human sexuality, as ordered toward procreation,
the human person, male or female, is properly ordered towards sexual union
with the opposite sex. It is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church, referring
to Scripture and the natural law tradition, refers to "homosexual acts" as "in-
trinsically disordered" (2357). This does not mean that the person is disor-
dered but that the acts, which are closed off to authentic conjugal union and the
transmission of new life, are not ordered towards their proper ends. Under no
circumstances can homosexual acts be approved or affirmed.
The now predominant popular narrative asserts, contrary to research, that
persons who identify as "gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual" in sexual orientation are
simply "born that way." Even if genetic predispositions exist, evidence points
to a complex interrelation of social, psychological, and relational factors as
well.
7
Sound research demonstrates that sexual desire or orientation can be
fluid and subject to change in certain individuals and at some stages, particular-
ly in adolescence. Women also tend to report higher rates of fluidity in sexual
desire. It is preferable for Catholic institutions to reference sexual attraction
6 American Psychological Association, Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth: A
Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel (2008), https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/
resources/just-the-facts.
7 See, for instance, Andrea Ganna, Karin Verweij, Michel Nivard, et alia, "Large-Scale GWAS
Reveals Insights into the Genetic Architecture of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior," Science 30 Aug
2019, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6456/eaat7693. Paul Sullins, writing
for Public Discourse, summarizes the implications of the study: "The study contained two
key findings. First, it found that the effect of the genes we inherit from our parents (known as
'heritability') on same-sex orientation was very weak, at only .32 on a scale from 0 (none) to 1
(total) heritability. This means that a person's developmental environment—which includes diet,
family, friends, neighborhood, religion, and a host of other life conditions—is twice as influential
on the probability of developing same-sex behavior or orientation as a person's genes are. Second,
rebutting decades of widespread belief, the study established that 'there is certainly no single
genetic determinant (sometimes referred to as the "gay gene" in the media)' that causes same-sex
sexual behavior. On the contrary, 'the variants involved are numerous and spread across the
genome.' Each of these genetic variants increases a person's propensity for same-sex behavior by
an infinitesimally small amount. In scientific terms, same-sex orientation and behavior are highly
polygenetic" (https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2019/09/57342/).
