Changes

The issue of continuing debate about homosexuality has indeed been raised "up a notch" with the dialogue, debate amongst the citizenry citizens of the U.S. who in turn many cases have urged their political representatives to compose and enact legislationto protect their civil rights. What has started out as an "equal rights" movement, which was mainly concerned with discrimination (job, housing market) due to sexual orientation, the focus of proposed legislation for at least the last dozen or so years has been the acceptance of same-sex unions in the same way that marriage is recognized by the State. This is obviously a concern not just to the Orthodox Church alone. The aim of this legislation is ''acceptance'' of their the behavior. Fr. George Morelli, speaking at an [[Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion]] (OCAMPR) conference at [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross School of Theology]] in November 2006 states, "In our day, effort is being [made] to create a moral parity between heterosexuality and homosexuality. Sanctioning homosexual marriage would go a long way in removing the moral prohibitions against homosexual behavior. Gay marriage advocates borrow the moral teachings and assert that they also apply equally to the homosexual. In other words, just as heterosexual activity is to be relegated to heterosexual marriage, so too should homosexual activity be relegated to homosexual marriage."{{ref|5}} The position therefore being advocated by "gay rights activists" is not just for acceptance of their "union" in marriage, but acceptance of their behavior (sexual activity) as well. Why else would they specifically advocate that their "civil union"—-which has been suggested to be the term used in legislation—be called ''marriage''? I believe that is the case (and I am not alone) that But use of the term "marriage" still connotes in our society the would connote social acceptance of a this union, hence the behavior that occurs within its context. The Church goes further than acceptanceIndeed for the heterosexual, stating that marriage is ''sacramental'' and therefore blessed by Godand the Church. What is to be understood is that the Church is not condemning or discriminating against homosexuals but rather their activity which is considered to be against her teaching in the same way other passions are. They are not considered as having lower value in the eyes of God, the focus is to be directed toward the correcting of the behavior and removal of the particular passion.