As much as such ministries are to be commended for their sensitivity to the pain and alienation faced by the LGBT community, their approach seems to constantly evade the question that all people — gay, straight, and every other color of the identity rainbow — must face: What can fully answer the needs of the human heart? Where can we find a promise of eternal love that doesn’t fade with time?

Pride tells gay people to “be yourself, follow your feelings” and that love is whatever you want it to be. But what happens when this illusion starts to fade, and the thirst for a love that surpasses the scope of sentimentality, sexual pleasure, and goodwill rears its head?

When removed from the ambit of God’s design, the sincere attempts we humans make to love one another will not hold up in the long run. Most people attending Pride parades are looking to appreciate bodily beauty and find ways to experience intimacy with people of the same sex. Rather than giving them mere tolerance and acceptance, why not let them in on the Church’s understanding of real beauty and real intimacy.

[I’ll put it more simply. There is a difference between tolerance and acceptance, and then also a difference between acceptance and celebration. Catholic practice has been tolerance when it comes to any form of sin except blasphemy. Tolerance is fully supportable in Christ’s love and in the scriptures as a means to preach the Gospel and call as many people as possible to repentance and abstention from sin. Once that moves into acceptance, we can no longer call for repentance. And if we go from acceptance to celebration — especially in the form of a Mass — we are essentially committing idolatry of the material over the scriptures. — Ed]