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To: Ransomed
Why do you think the married Anglican and Episcopalian clergy didn’t stop those groups from actually openly accepting gay clergy? I mean among Catholics, the ones now most in favour of ending the discipline of celibacy are also the ones invariably most in favour of homosexuals

It's a good question, and I don't have a good answer.

Most Episcopal clergy I have known are either homosexuals themselves or are heterosexual (or bisexual) females whose mission in life is ending oppression of gays and lesbians.

I have imagined that the pre-1965 RC clergy formed much more of a fraternity than the married Episcopal priests, who usually flew solo.

But, as I said, you raise a good point.

62 posted on 01/07/2015 5:24:41 AM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.)
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To: Jim Noble

My take on it is that now with the broader culture in the west the most accepting of gays it has ever been, gays stopped becoming priests and older gay priests died. The peak of instances of abuse peaked around 1978-82, and fell steeply according to the John Jay report. I don’t think that was a result of any discipline or change in policy. Less gay priests meant the % of priests that committed the most abuse also decreased.

The theory is that gays hid in the Catholic Church because of the celibacy discipline, it was from the broader culture in a group that mandated that they couldn’t get married. So they had cover. Now, they don’t need to hide anywhere, they can soon get married in 36 states, in many areas it is against the law to ‘discriminate’ against them. If they want to get into religion, there are many faiths that will now eagerly put them in positions of leadership, where they can be openly gay in relationships.

FReegards


67 posted on 01/07/2015 6:27:58 AM PST by Ransomed
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