Posted on 11/29/2005 8:49:06 AM PST by NYer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican newspaper said on Tuesday that homosexuality risked "destabilizing people and society", had no social or moral value and could never match the importance of the relationship between a man and a woman.
The remarks were contained in a long commentary published to accompany the official release of a long-awaited document that restricted the access of homosexual men to the Roman Catholic priesthood.
The article by Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a French Jesuit and psychologist, said homosexuality could not be considered an acceptable moral alternative to heterosexuality.
"During these past years, homosexuality has become a phenomenon that is always increasingly worrying and in many countries is considered a quality that is normal," the article in L'Osservatore Romano said.
The article was specifically approved by the Vatican's secretariat of state.
"It (homosexuality) does not represent a social value and even less so a moral virtue that could add to the civilization of sexuality," Anatrella said. "It could even be seen as a destabilizing reality for people and for society."
The Catholic Church, the article said, had a duty to reaffirm its position that homosexuality is "against conjugal life, the life of the family, and priestly life".
"In no case is this form of sexuality a sexual alternative, or even less, a reality that is equivalent to that which is shared by a man and a woman engaged in matrimonial life," the Italian-language article said.
"It (homosexuality) cannot be encouraged or even less so, supported with pastoral initiatives," it said in an apparent reference to Catholic priests who administer to homosexuals without reminding them of the Church's position against gay sex.
It said homosexuality was "a sexual tendency and not an identity" and repeated the Church's stand against allowing gays to marry or to adopt children. It also called homosexuality "an incomplete and immature part of human sexuality".
It repeated some themes in the Vatican document, and added a list of ways seminary directors could determine if a candidate for the priesthood had overcome homosexual tendencies or risked not being able to respect the Church rule of priestly celibacy.
The Catholic Church finally figured out the problem and it is now fixing it.
Way overdue.
DA740
Oh, I'm delighted. But the sleazy techniques of the MSM never cease to amaze me. Doctored photos, odd camera angles, they'll do anything to further their propaganda. Dick Cheney looking angry, Condi Rice with photo-shopped eyes. The MSM will certainly portray this splendid teaching moment from the Vatican as a cruel persecution of gays. But hopefully they will overreach themselves.
Judaism's Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) Rejected Homosexuality
That is an excellent book. I read it back in 1995 when it first came out.
Whoa boy. What makes me think that the Church is in for a very nasty time?
We aren't supposed to want to be martyrs. That's a vanity. We may be in for it though anyway.
by Fr. Paul Shaughnessy, SJ
"VERY odd camera angle by Reuters..."
Reminds me of the opening to "Star Wars."
Didn't you hear? Al Gore invented the Catholic Church.
LOL!
Actually, I agree with the poster above, who said it was probably supposed to strike fear into one's heart and conjure up images of tyrants, inquisitors, etc. Reuters - always an agenda!
This is truly wonderful news.
I was afraid that the Vatican's statement upon the release of this document was actually going to be some sort of wishy washy thing that blunted its impact - but if anything, it goes beyond the document in its clarity and firmness. Woo-hoo!
The Vatican got it right.
Ping!
Correction
The Catholic Church has always taken this stance. Some of the bishops chose to ignore it. The Holy Father is repeating .. or .. reinstructing those responsible for admitting men to the priesthood. He is using stronger language to get the message across. The only thing that has changed is the messenger.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Good news, from the Vatican. Makes me hopeful. Maybe the culture war will not be lost. Gotta keep slogging on, and it certainly is encouraging to hear the truth.
Freepmail me and DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off this pinglist.
That is an excellent article. Many people ignore a peculiar fact, which is that the most prosperous societies are also those that are monogamous, with at least the ideal of stable married relationships between one man and one woman.
Of course, men don't like this, and it has frequently been the source of heresies and schism. SOmeone wrote that all heresies begin below the belt, and it is certainly true that a lot of them seem to.
Islam, for example, which can be described as a syncretist heresy that drew upon both Judaism and Christianity in its sources, specifically rejected the Jewish/Christian foundation for society and sexual life, not only in its adoption of polygamy, but in its granting to men of virtually total sexual free reign. Under Islam, men are free to pursue other men, boys, and barnyard animals - one of Ayatollah Khomeni's first writings was an ask-the-mullah column defending - uh - dalliances - with chickens! And then of course they get those 72 virgins.
What a contrast between Islamic societies and Judeo-Christian societies. And the attitude toward sex and marriage has a lot to do with it.
The Catholic Church has ALWAYS taken this position?
I beg to differ. Over the last 35 years the Catholic clergy permitted a flood of homosexuals into the seminaries, turning them into decadent bath-houses, and then planted those homosexuals into the parishes where they preyed upon and ruined the lives of thousands of innocent post-pubescent young men.
Read "Good-Bye, Good Men."
DA740
Hello and good morning!
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