Everyone has his own spin on the current controversy. Prominent gay writer Andrew Sullivan, in an article in his blog The Daily Dish in The Atlantic on the sex abuse scandal and the Catholic Church, argues that “if homosexuality were regarded in Catholic theology as a healthy and rare difference rather than as a shameful disorder, … these crimes would for the most part disappear."

The Catholic Church is never going to change its teaching on marriage as the union of one man and one woman or on the sinfulness of sexual relations outside marriage – whether between men and women or persons of the same sex, but I would like to focus on the word “healthy” because there is nothing “healthy” about the gay lifestyle, as Mr. Sullivan, who is HIV positive, very well knows.

Study after study has shown that men with same-sex attraction (SSA) are more likely to have psychological disorders, substance abuse problems, and suicidal ideation and attempts.

While we don’t hear much about it anymore, the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) continues unabated.  In 2006, the number of new infections reported among young MSM rose by 18%. New drugs have turned infection with HIV from a near certain death sentence into a chronic disease, but the spread of drug resistant mutations threaten that success. These drug resistant strains are spreading because HIV positive men choose to engage in unprotected sex.

HIV is not the only disease MSM have to worry about, besides syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, cancer causing HPV, hepatitis A, B, & C, and herpes, there has been a resurgence of Kaposi sarcoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, and shigellosis. Outbreaks of MSRA (the flesh eating bacteria) have been traced to homosexual activity.

The media image of happy male couples, lining up to be married, contrasts sharply with the reality of rampant promiscuity. MSM, whether in relationships or not, have numerous sexual partners. They have sex with strangers in public places, bathhouses, gay bars, and Tearooms. They troll for sex on Internet sites like Manhunt. They attended huge circuit parties where music, drugs and sex are the main attraction. There is an epidemic of addiction to crystal meth among MSM and widespread use of other drugs including ecstasy, ketamine, poppers, GHB, and cocaine. The combination of drugs, promiscuity, and the number of STDs circulating in the gay community creates a perfect storm.

A few gay men have pointed out the folly of this behavior. In an article entitled: “Society now accepts gay men as equals. So why on earth do so many continue to behave like teenagers,” Simon Fenshawe writes: “Hooked on drugs and sex and looks, we call it gay culture. The figures are staggering: 20% of gay men in London use the incredibly damaging crystal meth. Studies show that men who do are twice as likely to become HIV positive. Since 1999, the figures for HIV infections have continued to rise in the UK. Syphilis infection rates among gay men have increased by 616% in the past five years.”

The message fell on deaf ears. The gay community has become more defiant in its rejection of “moralizing” and adamant in its glorification of sex. The more acceptance the gay agenda receives, the less the media covers the problems, and the worse things become.

Sullivan has been a vocal proponent of changing the legal definition of and the Church’s teachings on marriage to include same-sex couples. He argued that all he wanted was to marry the man he loved. However, a just released study Beyond Monogamy: Lessons from Long-Term Male Couples in Non-Monogamous Relationships reveals that promiscuity represents the norm among male couples. According to other studies, 75% of male couples are in “successful open relationships.”

Beyond Monogamy goes into explicit detail. These are not occasional flings but a consistent pattern of negotiated sexual activity outside the relationship, sometimes with strangers at public venues or pick ups from bars. 41% of the men in the study reported engaging in “sex with partner and others” (threesomes). One third of the men in the study were HIV positive.

Sullivan is right on one thing: the “failure of the church to come to terms with … sexual orientation.” Many in clergy erroneously believe that SSA is biologically determined and unchangeable, even though there are no replicated scientific studies to support this belief and massive evidence, including identical twins studies, refuting it. Each man with SSA has his own personal history, but in that history, we can often see the roots of the problem. These can include: a failure to identify with his father or same-sex peers; a sense of inferiority or unmasculinity; a failure to form a healthy attachment to his mother in early life; and a history of childhood sexual abuse. Some gay men realize that the obvious self-destructive behaviors spring from unmet needs or a desire to connect with their lost manhood.

The Christian community should have put its considerable resources behind educating the public as to the true causes and nature of SSA, the means of prevention, and the possibilities for effective treatment. If we had, the public might understand the why the church regards this “inclination” as “objectively disordered” and why these teachings cannot be changed.