Regarding Jeff Kingston's Aug. 25 Counterpoint article, "Gay marriage in Japan? Only over the reactionary LDP's cadaver": This sentence in the article caught my eye: "Despite the Philippines being largely Roman Catholic, 73 percent of respondents there said society should accept gays."

What an alarming display of ignorance of Catholic teaching. Accepting "gays" — as in homosexual people — is required by Catholic teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in plain language that homosexual people are to be treated with dignity, respect and Christ-like love. The majority of people in the Philippines don't accept gays "despite" being mostly Catholic — they accept them because of it!

What the Catholic Church does not accept, though, is homosexual behavior. Kingston errs gravely in equating this with a nonacceptance of homosexual people.

Simply put, "hate the sin but love the sinner" is the best way to sum up Catholicism's view on homosexuality and those who engage in it. The former is morally out of bounds, but the latter are human beings who deserve to be treated as such.

Hopefully Kingston will recognize this difference in future pieces touching on homosexuality and Catholic teaching pertaining to it.

jennifer kim

obihiro, hokkaido

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.