Posted on 09/24/2005 11:30:10 AM PDT by tuesday afternoon
Washington DC, Sep. 23, 2005 (CNA) - In an interview with the Washington Times regarding the Vatican’s new document which will reportedly bar homosexual men from seminaries, Fr. Joseph Fessio, head of Ignatius Press and provost at Ave Maria University, said that a deep seeded sexual ethics problem lies at the root of the Church’s decision, and of the sex abuse scandal which has come to light in recent years.
"Both the present Holy Father and many Catholic scholars and commentators”, he told the Times, “have realized the sexual-abuse crisis was a sign of something much deeper and more widespread.”
Fr. Fessio pointed to a directive issued by Pope John XXIII in 1961 which said that ordination "should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers."
That directive, he said, has been largely ignored or watered down in subsequent decades.
"There emerged a justification,” he noted, “a whole philosophy saying same-sex attraction is one of God's gifts."
"That's what was so insidious. Now in our present culture -- which is obsessed with sex -- the church must make sure its own ministers are not contaminated by this secularized worldview," he said.
A 2004 fact finding report showed that some 81 percent of the priestly abuse cases involved boys or young men.
Opponents and several gay-rights activist organizations have expressed outrage at the document which is expected to be released in the near future by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education.
The document reportedly contains no change in Catholic teaching which has consistently held that homosexual men--even celibates--should not be ordained, and that homosexual tendencies point to a deeper disorder.
Likewise, the document is said to encourage already-ordained homosexual priests to make a renewed commitment to living a chaste life.
ping
This non-Catholic says "Thank Heaven for good men." May the Lord strengthen them to endure the attacks that are sure to follow.
I watched a video tape in the early 1980's which featured an elderly Benedictine priest warning that American seminaries had been infiltrated by homosexuals. At the time I thought he was a little extreme. I don't think that anymore.
I hope there are enough members of the Church hierarchy remaining who have the gumption to root out these perverts in spite of the howls that will spew from their fellow travelers on the left. Its sink or swim time for the Church.
As a Protestant friend of the Catholic Church, I have a suggestion for the Vatican if it wants to reduce the percentage of gays in ministry. Try allowing priests to marry or be married (heterosexually, that is !) and I think it will help to solve the problem. Many well adjusted young Catholic men would consider the priesthood and probably a number of Catholic family men (some of whom are already serving the church as deacons) would step forward to enter the priesthood. The priest shortage would be resolved quickly and the Catholic Church (and Christianity) would emerge as a much stronger force in the world.
**Fr. Fessio pointed to a directive issued by Pope John XXIII in 1961 which said that ordination "should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers."**
Finally Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II are being vindicated!
I could not agree with you more. I have also attended Lutheran services and know well the pastor. He is a man of God, married, and he could certainly relate to the trials and tribulations of being a husband and father better than someone who has never had to deal with it on a personal level.
I had an uncle who was a priest in my local diocese. He was trained as a marriage counselor. He eventually left the priesthood and the Church and married a former nun. I often think of how much more valuable he could have been to the Church if he could have married and stayed.
Having attended Catholic schools through high school, I have NO desire to EVER marry a nun. I value my knuckles too much...
What is interesting is that the Catholic Church does have some married priests as the Vatican has already allowed Anglican clergy with a wife and family to join the priesthood. As a outside observer, it doesn't make much sense that a married Episcopal priest can become a Catholic priest while a Irish Catholic family man is not eligible to do so. I think all Christian denominations are right and wrong about some things, but the problems in the Catholic and Episcopal churches are giving Christianity a negative image worldwide. Let's hope for the sake of the entire Christian Church that Pope Benedict will be led to change the policy.
A no go. The way you reduce the number of gays is by barring their entrance. Incidentally, coming from a Eastern Catholic background, I can assure you that there are married Priests in the Church already. In any event it has nothing to do with the problems the Church has been experiencing (coming from a minority of the clergy). See this quote from Fr. Fessio:
"That's what was so insidious. Now in our present culture -- which is obsessed with sex -- the church must make sure its own ministers are not contaminated by this secularized worldview," he said.
First and foremost, the Church needs holy men called by God to the Priesthood.
The priest shortage would be resolved quickly...
There is no real "Priest shortage".
...and the Catholic Church (and Christianity) would emerge as a much stronger force in the world.
Only to the extent that all Catholics, including Priests, respond virtuously to the Grace of God in living a life of holiness will this continue to come to fruition.
*Good point. The Church needs men who can't keep their vows
*How much time have you spent reading the Church's reaons for doing what she does?
Brother,it is within the realm of posibility the Catholic Chuch has many reasons you are totally unaware of which then places into proper context the "doesn't make musch sense" remark.
Someone correct me if I am wrong but as I recall from history priests were allowed to marry until about the 6th century. The practice was outlawed because of many scandals involving marrying for the sake of obtaining the rights to property or some such thing as were the customs of the time. Certainly this is not a relevant reason today.
Personally, I think it would be a healthy thing to have married priests. Let the flames begin.
That's not the point. It would have been wrong for him to do what he did and attempt to stay in the Church. It was a no-win situation either way.
The day that candidacy for the priesthood of the Catholic Church becomes a matter of 'civil' rights in the USA is the day we go undergorund. The catacombs beckon.
Got so upset, I couldn't type 'underground'. There's never a prrofreader around when you need one.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Reasonable and good article about the Catholic Church and homosexuals in its midst.
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist. Oh, and DirtyHarryY2K as well.
Hello??
That is one poweful stat and it needs to be used as a tool with which to incessantly belt the homosexual lobby in the upcoming battles over the Vatican's stance.
Did you see the absurd response from a PRIEST on the CNA website?
"Published by:
"Father Benedict
"Chicago IL United States
"23/09/2005
"01:03 PM EST
"Is the Vatican purposely blurring the line between homosexuality and pedo/ephebofilia?
Pedophiles have sex indiscriminately with both boys and girls. If 80% of cases involve boys, it's because of their greater availability not because they were perpetrated by gay priests or seminarians."
(I sent in my own response refuting this "availability" theory so popular with liberals, social workers, and gay groups. Weird how they twist things. Not sure if CNA will print my reply on the site; I tried to set this priest straight, he knows better as an insider that it's not true. Maybe he's gay himself, why else take this obviously convuluted viewpoint?)
For some serious, scientific explanations, fyi:
http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=6506
That is so much horse crap, I agree. My two daughters grew up serving at Mass. Well, one is not quite grown and still does. My oldest girl is 18, youngest 16. Girls serve as much as boys, at least in my parish. Boy did that priest raise a red flag over his head. Like you said, how gay.
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