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that Catholicism has not taken a flexible approach in comparison to earlier years if the Gallup poll is anything to go by. On the other hand, opinions (particularly with people that identify as Catholic) might be changing in as fast as 10 years.

The last issue that warrants mention on the topic of Catholicism and social justice is the topic of same-sex marriages. The topic of same-sex marriage is a social justice issue because it is an issue which affects a large segment of the population and it is a contentious issue which has sparked debate over the last few decades in Western society. For instance, Dempsey (2008) demonstrates that the Catholic Church holds the view that circumstances may increase the culpability of a person to engage in homosexual acts (p. 77). Furthermore, Dempsey (2008) points out that Catholics believe that respect for the basic human dignity of the homosexual entails respect for his ability to cooperate freely with God’s grace in turning from evil ways and embracing a chaste life in Christian love (Ibid., p. 77). The Catholic Church affirms the natural law and Christian vision of marriage as the loving and life-giving union of a man and a woman (Dempsey, 2008, p.77). Furthermore, the Catholic Congregation beliefs that “a person engaging in homosexual behaviour therefore acts immorally.” (Ibid., p. 77). The Catholic teaching then tries to take a scientific spin on the union of marriage by arguing that homosexual activity is not a complimentary union, able to transmit life, and so it halts the call to life and thus of self-giving, in which the Gospel claims is the essence of Christian living. Thus, the Catholic Church tries to use morality and science to argue against the notion of same-sex marriages.

On one hand, the Catholic Church respects homosexuals as people, yet on the other hand, part of the statement calls such acts “evil” and invites the “evil-doer” to embrace a chaste life in Christian love. Thus, in this regard, the Catholic Church still has a long ways to go before it deals wholly with the issues of same-sex marriage and homosexuality.

Having said that, in an interview with Pope Francis in the summer of 2013, the Pope stated that while homosexual acts were sinful, homosexual orientation was not.[2] This shift in attitude although still stringent but making some leeway towards homosexuality, demonstrates that there has been a change to views on homosexuality as the world becomes more global and accepting of same-sex marriages.

The other reason why the topic of same-sex marriage is a social justice issue is because it has been an issue that has seen the inside of courtrooms throughout historical debate. For instance, Olson and associates (2006) argue that public opinion has had a major impact on same-sex marriage discourse. Furthermore, Canadian cases like M. v. H. [1999] has provided awareness to the cause of same sex-marriages. In the case of M.v.H, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered Ontario to amend its definition of family to include cohabitation of partners (whether male or female). Thus, in this case, lesbian and gay couples were given the same rights and responsibilities that married, opposite-sex couples traditionally have.

Further to Olson and associates’ (2006, p. 342) study, while Americans have become less willing to restrict the civil rights of gays and lesbians, religion has been seen as a sometimes ambiguous influe