Informed Consent

Articles Which Address Homosexuality from the Standpoint of the Medical and Psychological Sciences

RESURGENCE OF HIV AMONG MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN
The "syndemics" of sexual and physical abuse, depression, and substance abuse
By T imothy Flanigan, MD

Dr. Flanigan is Professor of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. He is Chief of Infectious Diseases and an expert in HIV/AIDS medicine. He is studying in the permanent diaconate program for the Diocese of Providence.

THE PHYSICIAN'S APPROACH TO THE PATIENT WITH SAME SEX ATTRACTION
By James O'Neill, M.D.

THE HEALTH RISKS OF GAY SEX
By John R. Diggs, Jr., M.D.

"As a physician, it is my duty to assess behaviors for their impact on health and wellbeing. When something is beneficial, such as exercise, good nutrition, or adequate sleep, it is my duty to recommend it. Likewise, when something is harmful, such as smoking, overeating, alcohol or drug abuse, and homosexual sex, it is my duty to discourage it."

July 2011. People often surmise that same-sex attraction is inborn, and that homosexuals are "naturally gay" or "born that way." They suppose that if God made them that way then it must not be a sin to act on their sexual desires. The possibility of a "gay gene" is sometimes offered as a further defense, suggesting that the condition, and its associated behavior, are inevitable and inescapable. One commentator summarized it this way: "Asking someone to stop being homosexual would therefore be equivalent to asking an Asian person to stop being Asian or a left-handed person to stop being left-handed." Even if a hypothetical "gay gene" were ever found, all it would likely determine, similar to most genes governing behavior, would be a genetic predisposition towards a particular sexual preference. This would be something very different from the genetic determinism or "hard-wiring" of, say, eye color or blood type.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

“GAY GENES," SEXUAL ATTRACTIONS, AND THE CALL TO CHASTITY
By Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

More articles to come ...

SAME -SEX ATTRACTIONS IN YOUTH AND THEIR RIGHT TO INFORMED CONSENT
Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD

Youth have the right to be provided the accurate medical and psychological knowledge about homosexuality by pediatricians, mental health professionals, school counselors, educators and parents. Presently, well-organized attempts are under way to attempt to block youth from being given both the appropriate scientific knowledge and informed consent about same-sex attractions, gender identity disorder, transsexual issues, the psychological needs of a child for father and mother, and marriage. 

GENDER IDENTITY (SEXUAL) DISORDER, CROSS-DRESSING, AND TRANSSEXUAL CONFLICTS
Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD

Dr. Fitzgibbons recommends a web site that has a chapter on gender (sexual) identity disorder which explains the psychological reasons which lead children to identify primarily with the opposite sex and to desire to cross dress. GID is the most common childhood precursor to transsexual issues. The primary emotional conflict in these children is the failure of the child to identify with and accept the goodness of one's masculinity or femininity. Drs. Zucker and Bradley in their textbook on GID report that 80% of children with this disorder experience a resolution of their symptoms. Zucker and Bradley's research also demonstrates serious emotional conflicts in the majority of the mothers of these children.

A PAPER ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FORGIVENESS
Dr. Robert Enright
Department of Educational Psychology,University of Wisconsin-Madison

WHO AM I?   PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES IN GENDER IDENTITY AND SAME-SEX ATTRACTION
Philip M. Sutton, Ph.D.

"SUGGESTED READING"
By Timothy Lock, Ph.D.

AN AUTHENTIC RESPONSE TO A DEVASTATING CRISIS
Arland K. Nichols

It was a distressing report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) – A May 2012 update on HIV and AIDS among Gay and Bisexual Men. The report details the degree of HIV/AIDS infection in the population of men who have sex with men (MSM).