Reply #87: No problem...

[ThJ]

First of all, I think John XXIII's encyclicals and Vatican II brought the Church a long way, but there's still a lot of work to be done.
Agreed. There is always more work to be and more progress to be done. Unfortunately, we're no where near perfect.

The fact is, as we know, people are going to have sex whether the Church wants them to or not, and I personally think it's rather foolish of the Church to ignore that.
Also agreed, which I think the Church needs to start taking a more practical approach to this issue.

By labeling birth control a sin, they put it out of bounds to many of the faithful, as I've demonstrated.
Over the last month, I've been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics, and I just got to part where he discusses birth control. I found his criticisms very enlightening. In light of us being good stewards, he notes that responsibility is key not only in other areas of our lifes, but also over reproduction. He also notes that such rigorism as promoted by the Church could lead to pharisaism or a turning away from the Church altogether, and that the doctrine creates an unnatural state of marriage, because it does not allow for bodily union, if it is rigorously enforced.

I'm sure you'd agree that we're at a bad place when gays can't find toleration in our society, and the church contributes to that effect.
Totally, and if the Church contributes to this, then that needs to be changed. The message of the Church is Love (the commandment of Christ), and as such it has to be inclusive in its ministry; however, I don't think the Church should be required to accept homosexual behavior. Catholics, and Christians in general, should not shun homosexuals, but talk to them about the Love of Christ. If the person chooses to engage in homosexuality, then that is between that person and God and is nobody else's business, and they should be judged/shunned because of it.