Media silent on gays in clergy

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | March 25, 2002 | Liz Trotta

[rvoitier]

Now why wasn't this reported in the mainstream press, hmmm?

[rvoitier]

March 25, 2002

Media silent on gays in clergy
By Liz Trotta
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     NEW YORK — Many priests, theologians and other clerical sources view the sexual-abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church as the inevitable result of a don't-ask-don't-tell policy that let many homosexuals enter seminaries during the cultural turmoil of the last three decades.

     The scandal has been framed in many media accounts as an epidemic of priestly sexual abuse in which pedophiles have victimized children.
     But some Catholic officials insist that the majority of the cases reported so far involve homosexual priests and young men.
     "The overwhelming majority [involve] homosexuals, but the media steers away," said the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus of the Institute on Religion and Public Life. "It is no secret that there has been a certain moral laxity and that a significant number of active homosexuals entered the priesthood in the last 20 or 30 years."
     No precise studies document this widely held perception, but many informed church sources maintain that pedophilia — an abnormal condition in which an adult has a carnal desire for pre-pubescent children — accounts for a relatively small portion of the sexual abuse scandal.
     Some church officials and Catholic intellectuals contend that the media are not reporting the story as homosexual activity in a bow to political correctness and also out of reluctance by the church to publicly take on the issue of homosexuality.
     "No one can look at these statistics and not draw the conclusion that this is essentially and basically a homosexual phenomenon," said Jack Hartigan, a Catholic lawyer active in child and education issues.
     Two recent Florida cases show the pattern. In one, the diocese of St. Petersburg has been accused of paying hush money over charges of sexual harassment against Bishop Robert Lynch by his former spokesman — a married man with two children. In the other, an anti-racketeering lawsuit against the church accuses Palm Beach Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell of sexual misconduct with a former seminarian.
     According to the lawsuit, the man was 15 at the time of the first sexual contact, which continued into adulthood.
     George Weigel, author of "Witness to Hope," a biography of Pope John Paul II, called the priesthood "a homosexually oriented clergy not living celibacy the way it must be lived."
     Members of the Catholic clergy cite two reasons for the rash of priestly sexual scandals: a "sex-saturated culture," and a climate of indifference to church teachings.
     "There would be no scandal if people had lived by the teachings of the church and if the bishops had done their job," Father Neuhaus said.
     When it came to following the church's teachings, he added, there was "a wink-and-nudge attitude" as well as a closing of the ranks among Catholic clerics.
     Father Neuhaus said he does not advocate barring homosexuals from the priesthood, but emphasized that such a priest must adhere to "uncompromising" chastity.
     "Every priest knows that. It's drilled into them," he said.
     Over the years there has been talk in church circles of a homosexual web of alliances in the church, a "lavender Mafia" that operates out of seminaries referred to as "pink palaces." This group of priests, Mr. Weigel said, protect others who share their homosexual orientation.
     A high-profile Manhattan priest who spoke on condition of anonymity said the scandal has been brewing for years.
     "They called me right-wing and Attila the Hun — they just refused to acknowledge the growth of the homosexual networks in the hierarchy," he said.
     The most pressing question for the church is: How will it rebound from the daily revelations of sexual abuse sweeping the country?
     "Getting on our knees and praying," answered Monseigneur John Woolsey, pastor of St. John the Martyr Catholic Church on Manhattan's East Side. "We've lowered the bar to the point where I think there's confusion as to what defines a Catholic."
     Mr. Hartigan welcomes a proposal by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau to amend the law so that "all religions" would be required to report sexual abuse.
     "If they got a law passed that says any church official who receives a report from a reliable source about a specific child being sexually abused by a priest must convey that report to the authorities, then that law would hold up as well as protect people," Mr. Hartigan said.

[.45MAN]

The scandal has been framed in many media accounts as an epidemic of priestly sexual abuse in which pedophiles have victimized children.

Excuse me but what is the percentage of abuse in the church vs the percentage in the main stream. I don't mean to minimalize this in any way but where's the rest of the clergey, protestant, Jewish et al. I don't hear anything about them at the moment.....

[SkyPilot]

Media silent on gays in clergy

Now that the Washington Times and other media have picked up on this - - I bet that is about to change.

[freedom9]

"Father Neuhaus said he does not advocate barring homosexuals from the priesthood, but emphasized that such a priest must adhere to "uncompromising" chastity."

1 Kings 12

31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

1 Kings 13

33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

[Zorobabel]

The media is silent about homosexuals in the church, because the media is infested with them too. Many of them hold high positions of influence in the media and the entertainment and arts "community," that the media types orbit.

[Podkayne]

The episcopal church is the most notorious pro gay institution in the world. They ordain openly gay men and women. They (the bishops) mouth platitudes about not haveing any "controlling legal authority (ecclesiastical) to prevent the ordination of gays.

It would be nice to do a study of mainline protestant chuuches about how far into the homosexual culture their leadership and theology has moved.

The episcopal bishops are the most corrupt bunch of humans around. Abolute power corrupts absolutely (Lord Acton)

[katze]

As a Catholic (or if non-Catholic), I cannot condone any sexual activity reported about these priests. However, while most of what has been reported is legally considered rape (underage of either sex), it is beginning to appear many of these young men participated willingly, knowningly and for a period of years.

What happened to "the age of reason"? Do I remember this as age 7, or 14? And, my point is, are many (maybe most) of the claims money-based? The media seem to be having a field day reporting the blame only on the priests; while I agree the priests' behavior is abhorrent, I don't see any then-willing participant as deserving of payoff.

Where can this end? If priests are allowed to marry, does this mean homosexual priests will be allowed to live with their "lovers"? Is this the media intent of further liberalizing the world?

No priest is safe from this scandal, not even if innocent, not even a dead Cardinal.

[.45MAN]

THe Cacholic Church has been around for 2000 years give or take a few. Thru this time many people, groups, countries have tried to destroy the Church with whatever they can. granted that this is from within but I still have to ask what is the real number? The Church is again being singled out by the media. We are next in line, as always, behind the Jewish Religion....

[beekeeper]

Which is why it is a dying church.

[ninonitti]

The media is silent about homosexuals in the church, because the media is infested with them too

Case in point the Boston Globe, weak sister of the NY Times has an editorial board that is 75% homosexual and yet can't seem to use the word "homosexual" when reporting about chickenhawk priests.

I don't suppose they'll do any better when the educational profession is examined.

[Zorobabel]

"Case in point the Boston Globe, weak sister of the NY Times has an editorial board that is 75% homosexual and yet can't seem to use the word "homosexual" when reporting about chickenhawk priests. "

Yes, they're desperately trying to spin this as "pedophilia" and using the argument that homosexuals are no more likely to be "pedophiles" than heterosexuals. The overwhelming majority of the victims are post-pubescent teenage boys. If this was a "pedophilia" problem involving both homo and hetero priests, we should be seeing young pre-pubescent girls and boys as victims, and we're not. The church is riddled with homosexual chickenhawks who prey on teenaged boys. I'm glad the boyscouts were able to resist these scum, and prevail in court.

[rogercolleridge]

The media seem to be having a field day reporting the blame only on the priests; while I agree the priests' behavior is abhorrent, I don't see any then-willing participant as deserving of payoff.

I agree. I have a huge problem with the "victims" taking money to keep quiet. If something this terrible happened to me or one of mine -- There's no way I'd keep quiet -- not for all the money in the world. Obviously these people were not too concerned about it happening to the next person.

[foreverfree]

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[Destructor]

"Media silent on gays in clergy"

That's because the Media is down with it! What better way for Liberals to undermine Christianity than to forcibly introduce a clearly UN-Christian element into the Church. Another page from the "Divide and Conquer" playbook.

[EdReform]

Note to the media:

It's the homosexuals, stupid!

Sex before 8 - or it's too late! Craige McMillan on how media covers for homosexual child abusers

"... "Ho, hum," says the U.S. media. "Don't bother us. We're busy. We have these water buckets we're carrying for NAMBLA." Those initials stand for the North American Man Boy Love Association. Their long-standing motto, "sex before eight – or it's too late," only recently revised, makes their intent pretty clear.

Homosexuals, as represented in the U.S. media, come in only two varieties: upstanding citizen and persecuted victim.

Do homosexual priests rape choirboys? Not in medialand. There, Catholic priests abuse children – a phrase that's so gender-inclusive, and manages to twist one's attention onto the Catholic church, not the homosexual men who have made inroads into the clergy so they can prey on the innocence of children.

Do homosexual pastors rape congregants? Not in medialand. There "ministers are found with naked teens" and charged with "unlawful sex acts with a minor." Such inclusive language … my, isn't the media open-minded and progressive? We'd never guess it was male pastors and little boys, would we?

The media is too busy raping the Christian church on its news pages, the Boy Scouts during its evening news broadcasts, and the military in its editorials and at its cocktail parties. No, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa don't warrant the truth, because it just might slow down the bucket brigade, and imply that homosexuals could possibly be, like the rest of us, just a smidgen short of sainthood..."

[GirlNextDoor]

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[EdReform]

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