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Lima, Peru, Jul 1, 2022 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Gerson Gonzales Granados is a young, same-sex-attracted Catholic man from Peru who didn’t celebrate gay “pride” on June 28 but instead has promised to be chaste and to defend what the Catholic Church teaches about homosexuality.

In an interview with Spanish EWTN News, Gonzales, a photographer, shared his life’s journey and about the promise he made during a Mass at Holy Family Retreat House in the Diocese of Lurín, Peru.

Asked why he promised to live a chaste life when many are encouraged to “come out” by celebrating their homosexuality, the young Peruvian said that perhaps “since we have suffered so much in life we tend to present ourselves as winners or that we have overcome things. And we tend to present these fears as a reason for pride and happiness.”

Gonzales explained that, in reality, “homosexual practice harms us, it harms the heart.” It’s also even harmful “if it’s loving, respectful, or faithful,” he said, and therefore advocated “not practicing homosexual acts.”

The young man explained that by giving up homosexual practices, he can “give a big yes to the Lord, to the Church” and assured that “living in chastity is the best way to live homosexuality.”

After commenting that he has sometimes received criticism from “within the Church” for his position, Gonzales said that one of his promises has been to “always accept, welcome, and preach the teaching of the Catholic Church and defend its doctrine, especially what’s related to homosexuality and chastity.”

The Church’s teaching on homosexuality is summarized in Nos. 2357, 2358, and 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which explain that homosexuals must always be welcomed, that homosexuality is a disordered tendency, and that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and therefore cannot be approved of.

His personal story

Gonzales told EWTN News that he was aware of his same-sex attraction at age 12. He initially considered himself bisexual, and over time he turned to pornography, masturbation, and finally to homosexual practice.

The young man shared that what affected him a lot was the poor relationship he had with his father, which “was very empty emotionally. He’s a dad who unfortunately at the time didn’t know how to say I love you or I cherish you; he didn’t know how to give a real hug. I think that may have created an emotional deficit.”

That relationship in addition to his mother’s volatile character and the fact that he was groped at age 8 by a 14-year-old boy, he explained, “could have caused wounded self-esteem, homosexual affectivity; this could have caused my tendency.”

All this and conversations he had with others led him to think that his homosexuality was a result of fear and wounded affections.

“I firmly believe that homosexuality is a kind of fear, of personal dissatisfaction, a kind of unresolved emotional issue, and for that reason I understand very well why the Church says that homosexuality is a disordered tendency, and of course I understand that homosexual practice is inherently disordered,” he told EWTN News.

“If homosexuality is what I’m telling you — fear and personal dissatisfaction — when you practice it you end up locking yourself into your homosexuality, making the wounds worse, becoming more insecure and dependent, perhaps more obsessive. So I understand that the Church isn’t wrong with her teaching,” he stressed.

Living the faith as same-sex attracted

Gonzales said that on Holy Thursday 2013 he felt the personal call of Jesus to change his life.

Since then, he has been able to move forward with “friendships with members of the Church, with people who experience the same thing I do. What I manage to do is make friends with people who also come around seeking to be consoled. Thus I find joy in this apostolate, which helps me to live my faith.”

In addition, he stressed, “I’m a man of Mass and daily Communion.”

Gonzales shared that at Mass, “I encounter Jesus in a very special way. I can listen to him in the Gospel, see him in the Consecration, and touch him when I receive Communion.”

“I don’t neglect prayer, I try to always stay in relationship with him, especially eucharistic adoration,” he added.

“I have a priest who accompanies me spiritually. Thanks to him, I can say that the Church has never abandoned me,” Gonzales said.

Message to those with homosexual tendencies

Asked about the message he could give to people with homosexual tendencies, Gonzales said: “There’s no reason to be sad. Don’t feel unworthy; the Lord loves you madly and has your names written in heaven. Let’s carry our cross with peace and joy, moving forward.”

“Don’t be afraid but trust in [the Lord]; nothing is beyond him,” he added.

The young Peruvian photographer also emphasized that “Jesus comes to heal everything — he’s the one most interested in our happiness. It’s possible to experience homosexual tendencies and be saints. [Jesus] calls us to that.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.