Top US Bishop clueless on homosexual priests

ABC TV | 1-04-2004 | This Week ABC George Stephanopolous

[ontos-on]

On ABC's This Week with George Stephonopoulous, the top US Bishop, Gregory Wilton, was totally unwilling to condemn homosexual priests. George S. gave him multiple opportunities to say what is obvious: that Church laxity as to homosexual priests and seminaries and priest-cliques of gay priests and bishops, have all conspired to result in [A] the child abuse and teenaged boy sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the past 30-35 years; and [B] the Church hierarchy's impotent response to the surfacing of this abuse--namely shuffling priests from place to place where they retain the Church's bona fides in order to pounce on innocents again. When this happens, you lose your "bona fides". Surprised?

Wilton's position is that he doesn't want to "scapegoat" any particular group, until "further study". Totally inept leadership. This amoiunts to total approvalof the very conditions that led to the abuse in the first place. He drew a distinction between sexual orientation and actions. That is, it is all right to be a priest if you harbor a deviant interest in males and [seemingly inevitably teenaged boys, as long as there is no evidence of actions on that score. Again, behind the double talk this bureaucrat just does not want any bad press, but will not do anything to root out the problem. [Wilton is black and presumably immune form all but the bravest raising an objection to this witless policy.]

Give me a break. This is precisely the attitude that has resulted in droves of people leaving active participation in the Church. Are they so out of touch with reality that even at this stage, they want people to entrust their sons to priests who are, at best, on the edge as to wheteher they act on their deviant impulses or ...at least this week, are successful in keeping their impulses inoperative. Oh Sure, parents will be lining up around the block to entrust their children and souls to such highly developed ministers of the faith.

The Catholic Church is in even worse shape than I feared. At least George S., who is Greek Orthodox, had the balls and sense to elicit these very embarassing response from the top US bishop. With a leader like this, it is no wonder that the US Church is rudderless and doomed dor the foreseeable future.

[ontos-on]

The Catholic Church is in even worse shape than I feared. At least George S., who is Greek Orthodox, had the balls and sense to elicit these very embarassing response from the top US bishop. With a leader like this, it is no wonder that the US Church is rudderless and doomed dor the foreseeable future.

[Support Free Republic]

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg		Freepers/Avg		Monthlies
24	Indiana	175.00	4	43.75	275	0.64	80.00	6

Thanks for donating to Free Republic!

Move your locale up the leaderboard!

[leadpenny]

There is a Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread. Wouldn't that be the place to bring this up? Just asking.

[Asclepius]

Wilton's position is that he doesn't want to "scapegoat" any particular group, until "further study".

The Spirit has left us. The Church in the West is doomed.

Did the rapture happen and none of us noticed it?

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

The irony is that the same people who point to this cancer in the heart of the Catholic priesthood are equally ready to bash the Boy Scouts for NOT (knowingly) letting homosexual predators serve in positions of responsibility in their organization.

The day our local United Way gives in to these pervert promoters and takes the Boys Scouts off their list of supported organizations is the day it receives my last gift.

[leadpenny]

You still give to the United Way? They've had their own scandals.

[kellynla]

As a practicing Catholic, I agree that the seminaries, schools, orphanages and parishes should be cleaned out but I disagree with your analysis that "US Church is rudderless and doomed dor the foreseeable future." The Catholic Church has grown for 2000 years and with the good sense and help of Catholics around the world and the grace of God, we will clean up this mess and continue to grow ad infinitum.

[ontos-on]

but I disagree with your analysis that "US Church is rudderless and doomed dor the foreseeable future." The Catholic Church has grown for 2000 years and with the good sense and help of Catholics around the world and the grace of God, we will clean up this mess and continue to grow ad infinitum.

My point was about the US church. How can you dispute that the US Church is rudderless when this Bishop is the chief and he is talking like this at this point in time? I hope that more eternal forces protect the Church through time, but this is its present state of decline with leaders like this. There does not appear to be anyone in a leadership position to give the opposite message to lay parents. If I were a lay Catholic parent, I would not think of entrusting children to a clergy that is not screened to eliminate deviants. I am sorry if that is harsh, but that is the situation. I grew up in the Church. But that was a long time ago. A parent cannot now assume that homosexuality has been weeded out of the priesthood. This is scandalous. People who feel like I do would not dare to trust their children to priests. Do you think a Church can operate in that environment. This is a simple issue. Maybe people do not talk about it: but this situation is simply untenable.

[lady lawyer]

Maybe he himself is homosexual.

[kellynla]

I understand your point. The Catholic Church has not prospered and overcame tribulations because of it's "leadership." The Catholic Church will prosper and succeed in spite of it's "leadership." Catholics like myself will forge ahead and demand that all undesirables be removed, as what has and what is presently happening. We have removed two priests in my parish and a neighboring parish. It may not be widely publicized but priests are being removed.

[ontos-on]

That is very good to hear. Thanks.

[ontos-on]

Maybe he himself is homosexual.

I know. I restrained myself from making that speculation part of my post. The whole thing smells. Something is very rotten in the core. Otherwise, more forceful steps would have been taken by now. I suspect that the decline in vocations in the Catholic Church is at least part of it. [That is, manpower is so low already, the leadership fears the effect of the needed purge.] They fail to realize that unless they bite the bullet and get rid of all these guys, they won't have a priesthood worth preserving. I suspect that the bureaucrats are just too afraid at the actual number of priests that would have to be sacked.

[sgtbono2002]

Now you've hit on the answer. Any straight man be he priest or laymen is sickened by the perverted practices of pedophiles, anyone who isnt sickened is part and parcel of the problem.

[longtermmemmory]

Stephanopolos comes from a family of priests at least four in his family.

[ontos-on]

Real spiritual leadership would consist in not harshly condemning homosexual Catholics, but offering them compassion and Chrisitian love, BUT making clear that Catholic priests cannot be homosexual, and just so there is not any doubt, it should be emphasized that this means in "thought, word and deed."

The failure of this Bishop to take the opportunity to provide moral leadership like that, is what is most dismaying.

[ontos-on]

Stephanopolos is Greek Orthodox

[cubreporter]

The church has left us ... that much we are certain of. However, the Spirit will never leave us. That's why we don't need the church anymore. We can pray at home, say our rosary at home and read the mass from the missal. We can do everything at home except receive communion. That's the sad part but now they let anyone give out communion anyway.

We keep our Catholic faith and it helps to restore our faith in a country and world that is in deep, deep trouble.

My Catholicism means the world to us. We were born Catholic, proud to be Catholic and will die Catholic no matter who likes us or who doesn't.

The church is something else again though not to mention those who call themselves Priests. Sad for the true Priests trying to do their calling but...how does a parent tell the difference??? They can't and therefore we wouldn't take a chance letting our child be alone with one.

[longtermmemmory]

Yes

[longtermmemmory]

FYI for anyone

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/02/11/loc_orthodox_priest_to.html

-snip-

The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Father Robert G. Stephanopoulos, dean of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in New York, will kick off the annual Stolberg Lecture Series Monday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, 1140 Madison Ave.

-snip-
Originally from Greece, Father Stephanopoulos is the father of ABC News political commentator George Stephanopoulos, former aide to ex-President Bill Clinton.

Father Stephanopoulos is Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and adjunct professor of Eastern Christian Thought at Saint John's University. He is author of the Guidelines for Orthodox Christians in Ecumenical Relations and has served as Ecumenical Officer of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

-snip-

[tkathy]

If Mr. Wilton is straight, I would be stunned. He is weird and creepy.