The Third Way

Apr 09, 2015

By Christina Abigail
“A Catholic Church is coming up with a play on same sex attraction?! That’s absurd!” So was the response of a handful of parishioners from Holy Family Church, when a play on same sex attraction was produced in conjunction with the season of Lent. Fr George Harrison, the parish priest was very supportive of the youths and applauded their courage to carry out this play. He was very proud that the parish youths were capable of coming up with this play and acknowledged all the efforts put in to portray the message to the audience which was a success.

Same sex attraction (SSA) is a very controversial topic in the Catholic Church. When a Catholic encounters someone who has SSA, he or she is immediately judgemental, fearful and discriminatory, which contradicts what the Church teaches. It makes one wonder; how come we have strayed away so far from Jesus’ teaching which is to simply love everyone and anyone?

Hence, the Parish Youth Council (PYC) of Holy Family Church, organized a play on March 29, entitled The Third Way based on a documentary which can be found on YouTube with focuses on the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality. The objective of this play is to break the mindset of Catholics who see those struggling with SSA, differently. It also aims to reiterate the stand of the Catholic Church when it comes to homosexuality.

The story revolves around a boy named Isaac who narrates his story to the audience. Isaac is the only child to his parents and often spends his time alone. His parents are staunch Catholics and always encourage Isaac to pray.

As a child, Isaac is often made fun off and faces many bullies in school since he is a loner. As Isaac grows older, peer pressure kicks in and Isaac falls into the temptation of pornography and masturbation. However, Isaac is taken-a-back to find himself venturing more into ‘gay pornography’.

Isaac’s life becomes more challenging when his parents find out about his modus operandi which leads them to send him to a counsellor. Instead of helping Isaac, the counselling sessions only make things worse as Isaac starts to hate himself, his parents and God. He becomes adamant to live out the gay lifestyle the minute he leaves home. He spends his nights at the club, going out with different men every week and living the life he had always wanted. However, for some reason even this does not seem to satisfy Isaac.

One fine day, as Isaac surfs the net, he comes across an article on Catholics and Homosexuality. Immediately, Isaac’s eyes sparks with delight for all this while Isaac was certain that the Catholic Church hated gays. Hence, he decides to talk to a priest about it. He meets Fr Greg, who explains to him all he needs to know about the Catholic Church’s teachings on people with SSA which is that each one of them is a child of God, regardless of their sexual orientation. Fr Greg also mentions that the world provides only two choices for all those who have SSA: you either hide yourself in the closet and repress your desires or you go all out and live the gay lifestyle. The Catholic Church however proposes a third way where you accept yourself as who you are, embrace your desires and struggles, unite it with the cross by living a chaste and pure life.

Isaac’s life begins changing when he decides to surrender his life to God. His attraction towards men does not disappear but he holds on to his identity as a child of God. He uses his brokenness to bring others who are also struggling with SSA back to the church, back to God. He fervently says the rosary, attends Mass and goes for confession. The SSA support group is one of his greatest gifts as they support him in every way possible. Isaac knows his journey won’t be easy, but He believes God has a plan for him.

“We should be together and supporting each other. In a community, everyone is seeking for love and that is what we are here for which is to support and love each other. Provide them a support system that they need. Isn’t that what Christ taught us?” says Natasha Leslie, a youth representative from St. Ignatius Church, PJ. Kevin Paul from Holy Family said that “It was an interesting topic and with the power of the Holy Spirit, the youths were able to highlight the important points of homosexuality and the Catholic Church’s teachings.”

The Catholic Church’s teachings are simple. It all comes down to love. To love one another just as Jesus has loved us. If you know someone who is struggling with SSA, please give them a hug and do not judge them. We as the Church should reflect the teachings that Christ has shown to us and affirm our identity as children of God .