National Catholic Reporter Obscures a Point

In the midst of an article on families of GLBT

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2663
the National Catholic Reporter has the following two paragraphs.

The statement was written by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, now Benedict XVI. In harsh and uncompromising language, the document, “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” written in English (not Latin) and aimed at the U.S. church, stated: “Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed to those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.”

 The key is the phrase “objective disorder.” The Vatican had not used such language before, and it outraged many. The word, in effect, from the Vatican was that even if homosexuality is not freely chosen by each individual, it is nevertheless inherently and objectively wrong. It’s not merely that homosexual activity is wrong, but homosexuality itself -- the orientation of being emotionally, psychologically and physically attracted to members of the same sex -- that is objectively wrong.

I see no justification for bringing in the vague and emotion-laden word "wrong" with its overtones of moral disapproval to substitute for the much clearer and more precise "objective disorder," which clearly and explicitly is used to avoid giving even the slightest suggestion of blame to simply having a homosexual orientation. Did the writer not understand the document or was he consciously trying to inflame emotions against the Vatican by distorting what was said?

Obviously, there are many readers who disagree with the Vatican's position on the matter, but there is no need for the NCR to upset them further by taking away the clarity which the Vatican had tried to bring to its statement.