My Skin Is My Sin Lyrics

A matter of Pride

"We're not gay, not that there's anything wrong with that."

That's the famous quote from a Seinfeld episode when Jerry and George are mistakenly assumed to be a gay couple.

Pride Week in Toronto is gearing up, Canada's largest gay festival. It's a big deal for the city as it brings in thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in revenue.

For social conservatives it's a time to avoid "downtown" and to "tsk, tsk" the big Pride parade.

Being gay remains one of the most enigmatic identities one can have in society.

There was a time when homosexuals had to hide their orientation and live a liar's life.

Then the pendulum swung the other way and gays came out of the closet, pushed for their rights and said, "I'm not going to hide who I am anymore."

Like it or not, there is something heroic in that.

Now we are faced with a new series of social challenges to our old way of doing things.

Gays have won, in Ontario, the right to marry.

They also have the right to adopt children. This is seen as a victory for human rights by social liberals, but a social disaster by conservatives.

Adding to the mix is religion.

The big three, Judaism, Islam and Christianity are entrenched in their resistance to any broadening of gay rights.

In some countries in Africa and the Middle East, being outed as gay can be a death sentence.

Christians, who have more onus than the other faiths to embrace the marginalized, wrestle with the question of homosexuality.

Some denominations have welcomed gays and go as far as to bless their unions.

More conservative denominations, while acknowledging that homosexuality in itself is not sinful, claim any acting out of one's homosexuality is a sin as it goes against natural law.

The same reasoning goes for gay marriage and adoption; it should not be allowed as it is a disordering of God's design for humanity.

What's a heterosexual, moderate Catholic to make of all this? I guess I go back to the Seinfeld quote: is there anything wrong with being gay? No, just as there is nothing wrong with being physically or mentally handicapped.

We don't get to choose our biology.

Whether you are born with two heads, purple skin or a gay – you are precious in God's eyes.

I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga, but I have to confess there is a truth in her lyrics when she sings: "I'm beautiful in my way, 'cause God makes no mistakes.

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