What does the Church teach on same-sex attraction and marriage?
Catechism References: CCC 2357-2359; YouCat 65, 415
Age 5 and Under:God makes everybody's body. God makes bodies different in a special way. God makes boy bodies and God makes girl bodies. Boys grow up to be men and girls grow up to be women. God makes us to love each other with our bodies (e.g. a father holds his child in his strong arms and a mother gently kisses a "boo-boo" when her child falls down)
Age 5-8: God makes us boys or girls, inside and out. He has a special plan for boys and for girls. Boys and girls can do a lot of the same things (e.g. read books and ride bikes). We just don't do things in the same way. Only boys can be a husband, dad, or priest when they grow up. Only girls can be a wife, mom, or a religious sister when they grow up. God makes our bodies so special that boys and girls each have something to give and something to receive. We open the gift of God's love when we follow his plan.
Age 9-12:When God creates us he makes us male or female. God makes our bodies in a way that we can completely participate in his divine and authentic love. In particular, men and women who are married experience God's love fully by expressing the same love that Christ has for the Church. God intended for husbands and wives to work together with Him and give birth to new life in their children through the fullness of love they express with their bodies.
Age 12-15:First and foremost we should treat those with same sex-attraction with love. Men and women are created by God with complimentary traits which ultimately lead to new life in the form of a child. Same-sex relationships do not possess the same capacity for procreation and therefore are different. Sexual acts that remove this capacity for procreation are not correctly ordered.
Age 15 and Up:God creates mankind as male and female. Their bodies are complimentary and together can participate in the act of co-creation with God. The union of two men or two women simply is not the same as a marriage because two individuals of the same sex are not naturally ordered in this way. Marriage is not solely founded on a couple's mutual affection for each other, but is also innately directed towards procreation. This does not however diminish our response of authentic love and care towards those with same-sex attraction.