No one is ‘intrinsically disordered.’ Here’s why

It has become standard practice, when discussing the pastoral care of young people struggling with issues of sexual orientation or gender identity, to say something like “Don’t tell them they’re intrinsically disordered.” Sometimes this is said in dead earnest, sometimes in a way intended to get a laugh. Sometimes it is said in a way that indicates that the speaker thinks that the Church’s teaching is dangerous and wrong. Sometimes it is qualified with an assurance that, while Church teaching on human sexuality is profound and beautiful, the language in which it is sometimes expressed cannot be heard and understood by a young person in this situation.

The basic advice here is certainly correct. The last thing that a person facing these questions needs to hear is that their Church considers them “intrinsically disordered.” Nevertheless, this approach betrays a deep misapprehension of Church teaching. Indeed, while pastoral care requires real sensitivity to the way words are heard and understood, there is a much simpler reason not to tell people they are intrinsically disordered: they aren’t.

People versus acts and inclinations​

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