Posted on 08/25/2015 7:08:25 PM PDT by marshmallow
We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.
—C. S. Lewis from "The Abolition of Man".
(This article originally appeared in the May 2006 print edition of HPR.)
This is an article that I wrote during my years of seminary formation, but I was advised to wait to have it published until after my priestly ordination. With the bishop’s seminary visitation on the way, it seemed like a good time to resurrect it from my files. It deals with a touchy subject, that will offend many involved in the work of seminary formation, but with the current atmosphere of scandals, and talk of a more thorough screening process for seminarians, I believe it is a topic that must be dealt with.
Sioux Falls is a rural farming diocese that is having great success in vocations with both numbers and quality. In the past, a consistent complaint or difficulty our new seminarians have had in adjusting to seminary life is the issue of effeminacy. The fact of the matter is that they are not used to, and are uncomfortable with, living in an environment that is often effeminate. I remember when one of our seminarians from a farm family was embarrassed to say that he would not want his brother to visit his dorm because of the way the men acted on his floor. While not, perhaps, stating it in the most precise manner it was understood by all when he said that many seminarians on his floor, “acted like a bunch of women.”
St. Thomas includes effeminacy under the vices opposed to perseverance. It is from the Latin mollities, which literally means “softness.” Mollities is the verb used in 1 Corinthians 6:9 which......
(Excerpt) Read more at hprweb.com ...
I think an argument could be made that the vice of servility (deferring to an immediate superior who is in the wrong and exceeding his actual authority) is also forgotten or at least it has been in the past.
I think the argument could be made that seminaries were sometimes environments where homosexuals hid out.
His point is that, your observation is true BECAUSE the behavior and the indicators were not called out and corrected.
I think the argument could be made that seminaries were sometimes environments where homosexuals flourished.
ther fixed it.
“This is not just distracting to other men, but I know my sisters will roll their eyes when the Liberace-like priest celebrates himself while celebrating the Mass.”
Gave me a good chuckle this morning.
I’m not Catholic, but have say at least the man is brave for speaking up when others dare not. He is pretty much standing alone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.