Guidelines for a Dialogue on Homosexuality

The present volume honors De Bruijne, and I would like to do so by
offering my own contribution to a dialogue on homosexuality. First, I will
reflect on the role of Christian ethicists—in my tradition usually called
moral theologians—in relation to the church. I do so from the perspec
tive of my own tradition, and I identify a tension that I suspect is pres
ent in many strands of confessional ethics: between a “conservative” or
even apologetic function supposedly at the service of ecclesial peace and
a “constructive” or developmental function that also serves the church
but is more likely to contribute to dialogue with the wider community in
which the church exists. The latter function became more prominent in
the pontificate of Pope Francis, with the document Fiducia Supplicans on
the blessing of same-sex couples as the most prominent and controversial
example.2 Second, I will introduce my reading of De Bruijne’s views. His
work is an example of how ethicists can address controversial issues by
engaging in a dialogue with the lived reality of fellow Christians and new
insights in history, psychology, exegesis, and other disciplines. It is an ex
ample of the parrhesia, the frankness or courage that Francis encouraged
Catholic theologians to demonstrate. De Bruijne addresses homosexuals
as brothers and sisters, not as a problem for the church. This approach is
a first step in “pouring oil and wine on the wounds of people.”3 Third, I
will take what I learned from the exploration on the function of Catho
lic theology and De Bruijne’s reflections. This leads me to propose eight
guidelines for a Catholic dialogue with homosexual believers and on the
topic of homosexual relations. Although as “guidelines” they still bear the
mark of fundamental reflection, I offer some concrete applications in my
presentation of them