[1] Notice that this evangelical statement regards all immoral sex as "lust." Ratzinger would prefer to say "self-indulgent passions" rather than "lust." Why so? Because Ratzinger believes that the homosexual inclination is not chosen and, as such, in not to be considered in itself "sinful." Moreover, he allows that while all homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered," the degree of guilt changes with the circumstances. This is a much more nuanced position. Here is the critical text:

It has been argued that the homosexual orientation in certain cases is not the result of deliberate choice; and so the homosexual person would then have no choice but to behave in a homosexual fashion. Lacking freedom, such a person, even if engaged in homosexual activity, would not be culpable.

Here, the Church's wise moral tradition is necessary since it warns against generalizations in judging individual cases. In fact, circumstances may exist, or may have existed in the past, which would reduce or remove the culpability of the individual in a given instance; or other circumstances may increase it. What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behavior of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and therefore inculpable (The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, §11).

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