Posted on 02/02/2016 6:32:53 AM PST by Citizen Zed
The Chicago Archdiocese is responding to a published report in which a local priest comes out as gay, but it wasn't clear whether there would be ramifications for the clergy member.
In a column by Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein, Rev. Michael Shanahan is interviewed at length about his decision to disclose that he is gay.
"I'd like to be one of those priests, who, with great respect for the church's teaching, can say: I'm a human being. I'm a son -- one of six -- I'm gay and I'm a priest, period," Shanahan, a more than 20-year veteran of Chicago parishes, is quoted as saying.
A Michael Shanahan is listed as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Chicago's North Side. In response to inquiries from CBS 2, a spokesperson for the Chicago Archdiocese on Monday said Shanahan would not comment and released a one-sentence statement from Archbishop Blase Cupich:
"We support all our priests as they live out the promises they made on the day of their ordination."
(Excerpt) Read more at chicago.cbslocal.com ...
Is he a celibate?
Indeed - is he celibate?
That’s the key - otherwise he’s mocking his vows before God and mocking the Church.
Looks like son #6 didn’t get the attention from dad.....
That's actually a good question. If he's obedient to God's laws, then he's not that much different (one might argue) from somebody who really likes to speed, but doesn't because he knows that God has commanded us to obey our earthly rulers.
Please don't start flaming me over comparing homosexuality to speeding, because I'm not.
What I'm trying to point out is that we all fall short of God's glory and perfection, and the only cure for missing that mark is the sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross.
If he’s celibate... it’s irrelevant.
And is he repentant?
All who have sin, who struggle with sin, can confess it to be what it is and that The Lord is right and they, or rather their flesh, is not. They then can bring forth fruits consistent with repentance.
When Paul listed off those who will not enter the Kingdom he followed it with “and such were some of you”.
If this priest, or any clergyman, or any layman, made this revelation in the context of confessing it to be sin, and also expressing his commitment to not entertain the sin but to oppose it, reject the sin, by the power of the HS and also in manly fashion ... that would be one thing.
But if it’s being cast out there as if it is somehow okay, somehow not sin, then even if celebrate for other reasons that would show that such a person is still unrepentant.
And the truth is not in him.....
Didn't he take a vow of celibacy? How does that work, please GOD just turn your back for a minute or so, that way?
What’s so bad about being happy.
What the a hole has done is brought discredit upon the Church’s teachings and thus ought be bounced. Gay means active homosexual and unrepentant.
Should not be leading children, teens, and adults seeking to be chaste....which means almost all of us in the Church....except the one parishioner interviewed, assuming she just agrees with him and wasn’t already tainted by his sinful logic.
If he’s celibate... it’s irrelevant.
___________
It should be, but I have seen a few too many swishy priests, and it’s off-putting. A priest should be a role model for masculinity, even as a celibate.
OTOH, I knew one priest who might have been gay, but he was not effeminate, and I have no reason to think he was not celibate. He was a good priest. And I am sure there are good priests who have experienced homosexual attraction.
One difficulty the Church faces is that while She calls all people to chastity, some men with homosexual desires may take the required celibacy as a call to the priesthood, or the priesthood as a refuge from those desires.
For every Homosexual Priest that Announces Another 100,000 catholics Leave the Church..
Little Wonder !!!!
Gay priests define “celibacy” as “Not having sex with women”.
The rest remain in.
It doesn’t matter if he is celibate. He has shown he is psychologically unfit for the priesthood with a disordered inclination.
Secondly, if he is going to be living in a community or a rectory with another priest, he is putting himself in the near occasion of sin, even if the other priest has no interest in reciprocating.
Are priests allowed to live with women? No. Why? Because they would be in a continual state of temptation. So why in blazes would this guy be allowed to live with someone he is sexually attracted to?
But of course, we know that gays don’t want to be treated equally, they want to rewrite the laws of nature to suit their insanity.
We have always welcomed people from many corners of the world and from different ways of life. We believe this is what God asks us to do. This is what we mean in our mission statement which states that we Create Unity. Celebrate Diversity. By Praying, Caring, Sharing. This is our bold statement and we enthusiastically embrace it.
Good Lord.
Well put.
Absolutely. We all have secret (and sometimes not-so-secret) desires, longings, wishes. Just because I would like to speed, cheat on my taxes, cheat on my spouse, lie or steal, it doesn't mean that that's the sort of person I am (and not so only by God's grace, btw).
On the other hand, if I continually announce in word and deed that I speed, cheat on my taxes or spouse, etc., then it is the sort of person I am, and that should disqualify me from being a driving instructor, tax accountant, marriage counselor, etc.
You’re right. This priest might also be inclined to do a little coveting of others’ doo-dads.
Sexual obsession is psyche twisting. This is where the words “deviant” and “pervert” come in to play. A normal male has a powerful sex drive. Having a sex drive is meaningless however unless it is indulged at least mentally. A great many of the men in a healthy society can get thru the day without fantasizing over every 14 yr old they pass on the street or see in their classroom or live next door to. Homosexuality ISN’T a preference it is a sick, warped obsession and the people in the grip of such a thing are NOT trustworthy.
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