Sunday 5 February 2012

The LGBT dress code

My post on the Soho Masses has been misinterpreted by one or two souls who thought that I was commending them.

I was not. I was condemning them.

But I was not and would never condemn the people involved. The state of their souls is a matter between them and Almighty God.

The cry so often goes up from the Catholic Gay community "Accept us, accept us".
And my point was that the Church should itself issue a decree of "Bring them home".

So if the homosexual lobby wish for full integration with mainstream Church, they have to observe the niceties of Catholic life.

Here, for a start, is the suggested dress and behaviour code:

1. If you do not wish to be noticed - don't wear OTT flowery dresses. In fact, unless you were born a Scottish male, do not wear dresses at all.

2. Avoid the colour pink. Catholics should not use the Mass as a canvas for their political statements.

3. Similarly, no rainbows to be on display (or AIDS ribbons for that matter, we are concerned with the spiritual here, not the secular).

4. Do not gather en masse at the entrance to the Church before or after Mass. It is impolite to block the way for others.

5. If females are to enter the sanctuary area, please cover your head, arms and ensure that your skirt is modest in length.

6. Similarly, males should not wear hats, shorts or short sleeved shirts.

7. Appear as your birth gender demands - this is not the place to parade gender preferences.

8. Pray for all, not just for those with the same sexual issues as yourself.

9. Remember that there are children in the congregation and that they should not be subject to influence of the morally wrong kind.

10. As with all Catholics, the reception of Holy Communion requires that the individual is in a state of grace and free from mortal sin. The Church teaches, infallibly, that to commit a homosexual act is a mortal sin. Failure to observe this when receiving Holy Communion,  is, in itself, a most grave sin.

And if you would like a number 11 then please do not show public signs of your "ishoos" outside the Church. By that I mean, no overtly sexual hugging and kissing or dating.

I hope that this post does not upset anyone, probably a fond hope.

All I can say in my defence is, that, it applies to us all, not just homosexuals.

Now how inclusive is that?

14 comments:

  1. I (as usual) would go further.

    5. If females are to enter the sanctuary area, please don't...

    In Catholic tradition, the Sanctuary has been a male preserve; as indeed the inner temple was in Old Testament Judaism.

    The only exception, as I understand it, was at the nuptial Mass, when the Bride was admitted to the sanctuary - becoming one with her husband being the symbolism, presumably.

    I agree with your previous comment about not judging whether people are in a state of grace, but when they proudly and publicly proclaim themselves to be actively and unrepentantly living in sin with male lovers and actively using these Masses to subvert Church teaching, (see Queering the Church Blog) I think it behoves us to object.

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  2. Ben you right (as usual). I was just trying to be nice (faint).

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  3. Utterly baffled as to how it was possible to misinterpret your original point.

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  4. Clare - There's now't so queer as folk (oops!)

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  5. Ben and Richard...geez, Laweesie. Get over yourselves. While I'd agree with most of your points, Women were ALWAYS permitted in the sanctuary to clean the place up-- you men were too busy swanning around in your man-lace to be bothered. Just what exactly, is your problem, with short sleeved shirts? For men or women? It has to be a really sick person that gets off on looking at someone's forearms. Doilies belong on old people's antimacassars, not women's heads.

    I quite like the Latin Mass, but in England I'm not always keen on the people who go to it. Some of them are just a bit twee.

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  6. All this strikes me as pretty trivial. Do people actually think that wearing pink is a sign of anything but liking pink, looking well in pink, or having been given something pink?I agree with gemoftheocean. What's more - there are some pretty funnily dressed old codgers who think that turning up at Mass looking boring, plain, and dull is a good way to welcome the Lord. I'd like a church full of vibrant interesting people but that wouldn't be very representative so let's be Christian and welcome everyone, recognising that there are a lot of sins like pride, hypocrisy, and self-exaltation that Jesus condemned directly but aren't always obvious from one's dress. Still we might start any judgements with His priorities and I suspect we'd have plenty of repentance there, long before we got on to pink shirts.

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  7. Gem - you will find that dress code imposed in many Churches in Europe. It is part of being respectful; a common courtesy to Our Lord. There is nothing sexual in bare arms, it's just crass not to wear long sleeves.

    Frederick - you do have a way of twisting things that have been said. My whole point is that Mass is for all but that there is no need to dress like a circus clown when you attend.

    My point about pink was meant to be humourous.I'll try to be less subtle next time.

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. GOTO

    Sorry, I should have been more explicit: the Sanctuary has always been a male preserve liturgically (ie during the liturgy).

    There are other ways of appropriately covering your head than a mantilla.

    (Deleted and re-submitted due to typing 'heat' for 'head'. Funny perhaps, but not what I meant! Took the opportunity to expand 'liturgically', too)

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  10. Oh dear. I have a pink shirt. Lest anyone get the wrong impression, I'll only wear it on Laetare and Gaudete Sunday.

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  11. John - it' mandatory on Laetare and Gaudete Sundays!

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  12. I thought it was a bit rum when Cardiff Blues started wearing pink shirts. "Thin end of the wedge" thought I. Should I now get one - ready for Gaudete Sunday (best time of the year) purely for outside Church of course?

    As for militant pooftahs in Church...it would further bring the "kiss of peace" moment into disrepute.

    Sorry, s'pose I'm just old fashioned.

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