Why Every Catholic Should See The Third Way

“You gotta see this. . .”

How many times have you come across a heading like this in your email, Twitter, or Facebook page? I probably view something labeled like this at least once a week. Sometimes I watch it and sometimes, I don’t. And I never send it on with the same “you have to watch this” label—until now.

The recommendation to watch the documentary The Third Way showed up on my Facebook page and in a few emails recently so I decided to at least take a look.

The 38-minute documentary is about homosexuality and the Catholic Church. Since I feel well informed on the doctrine and stance of the Church in this matter, I thought that I would preview the movie so that I would have something to share with others when the topic comes up.

I was hesitant because it was so long. Some of my adult children have gay friends; even some of my high school children have friends who are gay. We talk about it a lot.

What a surprise I received after viewing this moving documentary. Not only do I have a great tool to share now with others, I realize the message was for me.

I think of our beloved Pope Francis’ call for the church to open her doors wide and receive all of God’s children. The Pope gets it. He is walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

After viewing this film, I felt a compassion for homosexuals like I never felt before. I also felt guilty for the way that I had regarded them in the past. And finally, I felt such a joy and love for my Catholic Church. It confirmed my faith in the true church of Jesus Christ.

This “third way” that the Catholic Church reveals concerning homosexuality is the way of truth, compassion, and most importantly, love.

The “first way,” which is simply to condemn all homosexuals, shows its ugly side at the beginning of the film with radical “Christians” condemning gays to hell, and it shows some of the bullying of homosexuals.

This makes the “second way” seem to be the human/compassionate response. Let’s just accept the alternative lifestyle. Let’s acknowledge gay marriage. This is what the mainstream media, our public schools, and government is pushing. But we know that this doesn’t sit right with our faith or natural law.

Is there another way? Yes. And of course it is found in the truth of the Catholic Church. I love being Catholic!

The documentary is so well done. It is state of the art. And we have some familiar faces that appear half way through—like Christopher West, Jason Evert, Sr. Helena Burns, and others who offer Catholic teaching in powerful bite-sized pieces.

Take 38 minutes today to view this with your spouse and high school children. It is really something every Catholic should see!