Theology of the Boy

Who is to blame for the suicides of teenage boys “struggling with sexual identity” that have been so highly publicized in the last two months? If we are to believe many media sources, primary blame rests on bullying peers. But I wonder: Is the homosexual community — and the Catholic Church — ignoring the darker, disturbing possibility that early sexualization and labeling of same-sex attracted adolescents drives these children into a secret despair?

Suicide among teenagers appears to be on the rise. In 2004, suicide was the third highest cause of death for persons aged 10 to 24 years in the United States, amounting to 4,599 deaths. This came as a surprise, since the suicide rate in this age group had previously been on a steady decline. No consensus seems to explain the sudden increase noted in 2004, though the current media coverage focuses on bullying and, specifically, peer bullying of boys “because they were gay or because people thought they were gay.”  (more...)

Theology of the Boy