Homosexual Acts ‘Morally Neutral’

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31542, 2 December 1967, Page 24

Homosexual Acts ‘Morally Neutral’

(N.Z.P.A.-B«ui<r— Copyright)

NEW YORK, December 1.

Homosexual acts should not be condemned if there was evidence that a feeling of love existed between the partners, a group of Episcopalian clergymen agreed this week.

The clergymen made no formal statement of their consensus, but agreed generally that homosexual acts should be considered “morally neutral” and judged on the same criteria as heterosexual relationships.

The 90 Episcopalian priests took part in a symposium. Project H, held at the Cathedral of St John the Divine and sponsored by the Episcopal dioceses of New York, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey. The Rev. Walter D. Dennis, canon of the cathedral and organiser of the symposium, summed up the day’s discussions when he said Christians must “rethink the usual position that has turned homosexuals Into modern-day lepers.

“A homosexual relationship between two consenting adults should be judged by the same criteria as a heterosexual marriage—that is, whether it is intended to foster a permanent relationship of love,” Mr Dennis said.

Homosexuality should be censured, however, he said, if it was promiscuous or Involved the “using" of one partner by another for selfish purposes.

Some dissenting views were presented. The Rev. L. Robert Foutz, pastor of the Trinity

Episcopal Church, in suburban Queens, New York, said homosexual acts “must always be regarded as perversions because they are not part of the natural processes of rearing children.”