GUNNING FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

In 1964 when I moved into the Chicago neighborhood with 26 big Catholic churches, one of the first things I found was that many Priests and Brothers were homos (as we called it back then). Since many Republican staffers were homos and at that time the left was violently (literally violently) against homos, I was only interested in the humor and means of denial.

Holy Trinity students in YFG would say “Don’t turn your back on Brother sonso”.
Old Italian ladies in the Alinsky organization would say of a Priest who was living openly with the very female head of the Welfare office “Well, at least he isn’t doing it to little boys like the other priests.”

Everybody knew and disapproved, but not strongly disapproved.

So it is interesting how 20 and 30 years later it became headlines.

#2 spintreebob wrote:

“So it is interesting how 20 and 30 years later it became headlines.”

In 1964 such things were not spoken of. Abuse occurred in every profession; people knew of it, but it was considered too sinful and too horrifying to speak about...

I never had a clue what “homo” and “homosexual” meant at Wheaton College in Spring 1963. I had heard them used as ad hominems at YPSL and YSA type events. I just thought they were meaningless ad hominems.

When I moved into the near NW side of Chicago with many public high school students in my evangelical church and many Catholic Holy Trinity students in Youth For Goldwater/New Republican organization I quickly learned in graphic detail what was happening at Holy Trinity with both the Brothers, and with priests visiting for guest lectures and counseling.

I learned a different perspective from gossipy old Italian ladies, activists in the local NCO Alinsky organization. They knew all the clergy in the 24 of 26 Catholic churches that participated in NCO. They competed with the Polish and other Catholic ladies for the best show stopper gossip. So we all knew what everyone was doing.

It wasn’t til late 1969 that a Seminary dropout/pushed out told me how students and Niles and Mundelein seminary were pressured/bullied into accomodating visiting priests as well as the faculty. He educated me more on the details.

(It should be noted that Quigley, the competition to Niles, played on the reputation of Niles to explicitly attract seminarians who did not want the Niles-Mundelein lifestyle. So it wasn’t all Catholics.)

#4 spintreebob wrote: "...So we all knew what everyone was doing. Forgive my naiveté, I assumed nobody spoke of it. I was five years old, nobody would discuss such delicate matters with a 5yo child. BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE! It might have helped me when the MSGR. put his filthy hand down my pants...

I heard high school kids and old Italian ladies. I don’t know about little kids.

# 6

“spintreebob wrote:

I heard high school kids and old Italian ladies. I don’t know about little kids.”

Did the old Italian girls whoop ass? Or did they turn away?

I learned a different perspective from gossipy old Italian ladies, activists in the local NCO Alinsky organization. They knew all the clergy in the 24 of 26 Catholic churches that participated in NCO. They competed with the Polish and other Catholic ladies for the best show stopper gossip. So we all knew what everyone was doing.

From earlier post. And before that

When the Old Italian ladies gossiped about a priest living with the sexy head of the local welfare office, they said "At least he's not doing it with a little boy."