Posted on 01/09/2015 7:59:28 AM PST by massmike
Father Martin Dolan, who has been a priest at Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin’s city center for 15 years, opened up to his congregation at the Saturday night Mass. He also confided in his Sunday morning congregation. Dolan is the only priest in the parish.
Calling on his Dublin city congregation to support same sex marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum, set for the end May, Dolan said “I’m gay myself.”
Dolan’s statement at Mass on Saturday was met by applause and a standing ovation from his “proud” parishioners.
Speaking to the Irish Sun (subscription needed) community youth worker Liz O’Connor said, “We are all very proud of Fr Martin. Because he has admitted that he is gay doesn’t change the person that he was before he said it."
The admired priest is currently on a pre-planned holiday and will return to his parish soon.
A source within the Catholic Church told the Sun, “It was very brave. He said he was gay. That was it...no bones about it.”
O’Connor echoed the sentiments of the congregation saying she would not want to see Dolan leave his parish after 15 years.
She said, “I wouldn’t like to see him being moved for the statement he made. That would be horrendous. He should be supported. He has done nothing wrong. If he’s moved, there would be uproar in this parish. He’s still the same man today.
The Dublin Archdiocese declined to comment until they had spoken directly to Dolan.
However, the Catholic Church hierarchy in Ireland showed their disdain for the referendum in December 2014.
(Excerpt) Read more at irishcentral.com ...
Romans 1 warns as to what happens when people embrace the lie instead of the truth... It also gives a warning to those who approve of wickedness. Romans 1:24-27 even goes so far as to point out homosexuality as one of these.
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. - Romans 1:32
Confessing your sins is appropriate. Celebrating them is not. This man may hold the position of a priest, but he’s not a Catholic.
During mass? That’s a huge problem. He turned the attention from God to himself.
He could have written a letter to the parish or called a meeting, but mass? No!
I agree that his inclination not acted upon is just that, an inclination to sin much like liars, thieves, adulterers who keep fighting temptation.
Papal and øbola approved...for now.
Jeesh......
PFL
Amen!
What this demonstrates is why it is so important to those promoting homosexuality as being a normative reality that ‘gayness’ be defined as a state of ‘who you are’…. as opposed to ‘what you do’. After all, if ‘being gay’ (as they have defined it by taking control of the language) is an intrinsic characteristic that is part of the DNA just as surely as the colour of a person’s skin or hair, who can anybody speak against it? In this case, the story is about a priest so it certainly is appropriate to bring Biblical principles into the discussion.
There are many references in scripture to homosexuality…. but always as an act that is being carried out (what you do) and not as a characteristic of the individual (who you are). This is a very important point and it seems to often allude even those who are vehemently opposed to homosexuality on a variety of grounds (and there is an endless number of legitimate grounds for opposition)…..I would like to suggest that the broad change in cultural thinking started innocently enough simply by the subtle change brought to language starting with the redefinition of the word ‘gay’. If those who oppose homosexuality use the word in the same manner as those who believe that homosexuality is just fine (normative), then the battle is lost….essentially, those who use the word ‘gay’ are acknowledging the reality of ‘gayness’ as one of the possible human characteristics that occur with respect to an individual’s sexuality and that means accepting the definition of ‘gay’ by those who want to promote the concept of its normality.
There is no such thing as ‘being gay’ and for that matter, there is no such thing as being homosexual or heterosexual either if the use of these words are being defined as an intrinsic human characteristic. God made humans to be sexual beings…. and their sexuality can manifest itself as being in line with His plan (normal) or it’s against his plan (perverted). Scripture doesn’t excuse sin on the grounds of self-identification that is based on one’s feelings……the idea is preposterous. And the idea of accepting the use of a term to describe an individual on the basis of who they think they are is utter stupidity and nonsense. In what other area of life would we accept such a concept? We don’t call people a husband or wife on the basis of then thinking about being a husband or wife, a doctor isn’t a doctor because she/he thinks about doctoring, a woodcarver isn’t a wood carver because of what goes on in their head….it’s only what the person does that means anything. The correct term thus is one that describes such people on the basis of what they do….. in this case, the term is sodomites.
So what does scripture advise about “sins of the mind?”
When one is presented with an powerfully attractive opportunity - if the mind is willing - does the sin of the mind wander to act?
To my mind, whether thought or act, the very nature of the expression he made gives validation to all manner of thought sin which his order has steadfastly stated otherwise.
This thought vs. act thing is just an obfuscation, IMO. Where are you gonna draw the line? When he’s standing up there and telling you he’s a pedophile but hasn’t acted on it, all the while eying your children? I don’t buy it at all, especially for a moral proctor.
Church is not dying but will shortly split into parts respectively led by Jesus and Satan.
And I think categorizing, subdividing and rating/assessing each is an exercise in mental equivocation.
You can stop with the moral relativism and putting words in my mouth. This is General/Chat, not a Religion thread.
I agree. All of us have temptations, just different ones. It’s seeking out and giving in to the temptations that are the sins.
Now if he said he had same sex attraction and how the grace of God helped him live chaste, fine. But apparantly he did this announcement to support gay marriage.
as to the applause...notice the reporter only talked to one person, so we can only take his word for this.
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