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With more than 11,000 abuse claims in the last five decades, it appears the Vatican, in need of scapegoats, may be poised to ban honorable gay priests. The American prelate, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, who is overseeing a sweeping Vatican evaluation of every seminary in the United States, told the National Catholic Register that men with "strong homosexual inclinations" should not be enrolled, even if they have remained celibate for years.
His comments come as Roman Catholics anxiously await a much-anticipated Vatican document on whether homosexuals should be barred from the priesthood. According to a report in the Associated Press , O'Brien and several other U.S. bishops have said they expect that document to be released soon.
"I think anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity, or has strong homosexual inclinations, would be best not to apply to a seminary and not to be accepted into a seminary," O'Brien told the independent newspaper. He said that even gays who have been celibate for a decade or more should not be admitted, the Register reported in its Sept. 4-10 edition.
As far as I'm concerned, this is a joke. If the Vatican moves to ban gay priests there would be too few priests for the Catholic Church to operate. This would force them to allow women priests or allow male straight priests to marry.
The Vatican's line of reasoning is also incoherent. They say that heterosexuals are not entering seminaries because there are too many gay priests. What a bunch of homophobic nonsense. It is likely that it is the celibacy rule that is keeping most sexually healthy heterosexuals out. Banning gay priests will only exacerbate the trouble providing priests to community churches.
The most disturbing part of O'Brien's statement is that it equates homosexuality with pedophilia, even though most child molesters are heterosexual. What O'Brien is suggesting will lead to nothing but failure and more abuse, as good gay priests leave and only the most sexually stunted, self-loathing and closeted will apply. And, I suspect, there will be not even a small increase in heterosexuals who enroll. In the end, we are talking about a hyper-closeted Don't Ask/Don't Tell policy. It didn't work for the U.S. military, and it won't work for Rome.
7 Comments:
hahahaha -- Banning gay priests is like saying that you are banning ALL priests. You would have to go to a gay pride parade to find more queens!
How true. I think they are a sick bunch of repressed men, who are blaming gay people. I can say that as a Catholic who respects my religion. But the anti-gay and celibacy rules are undermining the church and attracting the wrong kind of priests. Ehat the Vatican is thinking of proposing will only make it worse.
What a bunch of ignorant, incompetent asses; they must be taking their marching orders from the bush administration. I.E., how to make every bad situation worse.
Their falling vocations problem would disappear if they would allow women into the priesthood and men to marry. But they deserve whatever problems they create for themselves, after centuries of abuse and biggotry, it's about time some of their bad karma started coming back to them. I'm and EX catholic and didnt even need reparative therapy or prayer to change! >;-) Gary (NJ)
posted by Anonymous, at
9/13/2005 11:13 AM
Father Mychal Judge achieved national prominence due to his selfless actions on 9/11. He gave his life to the Catholic church and to its people. He was also a gay priest. The Catholic church is pathetic, disgusting and ignorant. Fair-minded Catholics should be hanging their heads in shame over this proposal.
posted by Anonymous, at
9/13/2005 12:17 PM
Just a note, the Publication that conducted the cited interview is the National Catholic Reporter, and not register. I mention this because, for those interested in progresive news about the Roman Curch and main stream denominations, the best publication to follow is The National Catholic Reporter and Comonwealt, which is published in NYC. America was also a very progresive publication that until recently was managed by very open minded jesuits, but now a days, it was taken away from them, since it was considered "way too liberal" (?) one thing I can say regarding the Roman Catolic Church (even thou I am protestant) is that at least there is a faction of progresive Cathilics that don't swalow all those lies about homosexuality invented by the conservatives, and many of them advocate an inclusive Church. I was part for many years of Dignity (LGBT Catholics) and it was nice to see the response that we had from many people when we spoke in Churches. In fact, I think that the Roman Curia is affraid of progresive voices, since they are more convincing about the real meaning fo Christianity, as supposed as those so called "conservatives" who understand NOTHING about true Christianity. Christianity is not, and has never being about sexuality, it about loving Gog, Neighbour and onself, regardless sexual orientation. Whosoever claims the oposite, is preaching false doctrin.
posted by Anonymous, at
9/13/2005 1:20 PM
Lets face it, its in decline, rotting from within and its straight leader is the one causing it. I hope it fades into obsecurity once and for all, or better yet, disappears altogether. All of them can as far as I'm concerned. The church has to be the most corrupt and hypocritical institution on earth. Once again, we're the scapegoats for society's ills.
If this becomes ecclesiastical law, then that evil demagogue in the vatican better start looking at the straight priests who philander with women. They should be banned to make it equitable.
