27.9.2009 Letter for Pope What was correspond in Brno.
26 September 2009Brno, Czech Republic
Your Holiness,
we are turning to you on the occasion of your visit to the Czech Republic that had a motto: “Love, faith, hope”. Both your call for the civilisation of love and the issue of our identity have inspired us to write this letter.
In interviews you mention that Christian communities will have to be more open – and at the same time, they have to face the intolerance of their neighbourhoods. We welcome the words about the openness of the Church and we hope it will also manifest itself in accepting people with a different sexual orientation and everything else people did not choose.
There are many Christian men and women (in our country, most of them are Catholics) who have to deal with their non-heterosexual orientation and who need support – especially the young people. We know from experience that only rarely dare they ask for support from a religious community. In Slovakia it is common that the Catholic Church calls for the treatment of homosexuality. Yet nobody enjoins heterosexuals from sexual activity, nor wants to treat them.
Life in all times and all kinds of societies surely requires tolerance from various groups of people – nobody can be excluded and searching for the truth is a personal matter. As a leading Christian theologian you might agree that the biblical sacred books sometimes contain contradictory advices and various examples of love. But the important message of faith and love improving our earthly life hopefully remains the same.
Some Christians probably assume the biblical commandments condemn homosexuality; however, from today’s perspective, one can say the Old Testament texts do not consider it to be fundamentally different from heterosexuality. The New Testament lays stress on love as the greatest good and this is the commandment we want to build on.
Your encouragement and assurance that life with a different sexual orientation does not mean condemnation would surely help young Christian men and women (and not only them). For the time being, gays and lesbians see stronger support in Protestant churches. We believe that as the head of the Catholic Church calling for love – that surmounts mutual conflicts and hostility – you can also help us oppose homophobia that changes ignorance into hatred and spreads hostility among people.
We also believe that – like one of the greatest representatives of Buddhism, Dalai Lama – you will support a more open debate about sexuality and safe sex (including condoms), that helps to prevent human suffering.
Your words that “in the face of every human being, without distinction of race or culture, God’s image shines forth” let us hope for acceptance and support. To all the people who visited your masses both in Brno and Stará Boleslav, we wish a lot of love in their hearts.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love,
I am nothing.