I believe at one point it was againt the law for anyone other than the clergy to learn or read latin. Since the bible and mass were both in Latin at the time, to the average person it was a secret language. You pretty much had to trust in men with the faith you normally reserve for God.
As for Homosexuality, even if the bible says something is wrong doesn't mean we weren't still supposed to figure it out for ourselves. We were given free will which is why the promise of Heaven or the threat of Hell has any weight at all. The one thing we all need to stop doing is telling people how to live, no one can be saved unless they want to be. If you want to stop someone from drowning themselves you have to wait for them to pass out first or they'll take you down with them. But if you wait too long they'll drown anyway. If you try to save people too often eventually you'll go down with them.