HOUSTON — As political and Church discourse continues around marriage and family life, a ministry in the Archdiocese is working to accompany same-sex attracted men and women living and worshiping in parishes around the region.
A local Houston-based chapter of Courage International carries a mission of “mercy” and understanding that “every person, regardless of who they are, was made in the image and likeness of God” and has “an inherent dignity,” according to Father Richard Lucien “Luke” Millette.
The priest, who is the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese, assisted in bringing the ministry to the Archdiocese and shared about the importance and need for this ministry in a recent episode of the “Around the Archdiocese” podcast.
Courage and EnCourage
Courage International is a Catholic apostolate that supports same-sex attracted men and women living chastely according to Church teaching.
Founded in 1980 by Oblate Father John Harvey — at the suggestion of Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York — the Connecticut-based Courage organization has 340 chapters worldwide and 236 priest chaplains. The EnCourage apostolate was established in 1987 to provide pastoral care to families of loved ones with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria. Both Courage and EnCourage have significantly expanded into Latin America in recent years, creating more than 40 chapters for Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
In November 2016, the Courage apostolate received canonical status in the Catholic Church as a diocesan public association of the faithful, making it the only canonically approved apostolate of its kind.
Through prayer and fellowship, both apostolates assist members in living out Catholic doctrine, which holds that humans are created as a profound unity of body and soul.
In Houston, Courage meets weekly while EnCourage meets once a month.
Doctrine remains the same
The Church teaches that “men and women with homosexual tendencies ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided,’” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It also teaches that sexual love is reserved for marriage between a man and woman.
Father Millette said that even though people may have “disordered attractions,” that “does not mean that we ourselves are bad people ... or that we’re outside God’s mercy or grace. All it means is that we have a cross that we have to work through, a suffering, a struggle that we have to bring to God so that He can help us to carry that cross so that through it we can come to experience His salvation.”
Despite the loud and often distracting back-and-forth seen in the media that often builds up an “us versus them” mentality, “the Church is teaching us that... we shouldn’t be reducing people to just their basic attractions,” Father Millette said. “There is more to the human being than just who they’re sexually attracted to.”
Pastoral charity
“The Church has a very clear understanding of marriage: an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation,” Pope Francis said in October 2023. “The Church avoids any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction and suggest that something that is not marriage is recognized as marriage.”
Pope Francis cautioned that “in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes.”
According to its website, Courage “understands the complexity of same-sex attraction” and describes itself as a “pro-chastity ministry” rather than one that attempts to “pray away the gay.”
“Conversion therapy... is not something the Church teaches nor preaches,” Father Millette said. “The goal is so that the individual can live their life in accord with Christ and to live out their faith.”
Courage participants focus on five key goals developed by the apostolate’s founding generation: To live chaste lives; dedicate themselves to Christ and others through the Sacraments, prayer and service; foster a spirit of fellowship; cultivate chaste friendships; and set good examples for others.
Spiritual support
According to the U.S. bishops conference, “As baptized members of the Catholic community, persons with a homosexual inclination continue to look to the Church for a place where they may live in authentic human integrity and holiness of life. Being welcomed into and participating in their local faith community is the foundation of spiritual support that the Church offers to them. Full and active participation is encouraged. Participation in a worshiping Catholic community is a support for living a life of chastity and integrity and an encouragement to an ongoing personal conversion.”
For more information about the two ministries, including contact information for Courage and Encourage, visit www.archgh.org/courage and www.archgh.org/encourage. To listen to the full podcast with Father Millette, visit www.archgh.org/podcasts. †
OSV News contributed to this story