1. I don't at all discount the motives and actions of the devil. His favorite target is the Catholic Church. Thus, he directs the most ammunition at the Church.
2. Perhaps, in part, due to No.1, a lot of homosexuals want to be priests in the “real deal.”
3. Many homosexuals are born into Catholicism, and feel that their identity as Catholics is their birthright. If they're going to be clergy, it will be as CATHOLIC clergy. This occurs with homosexual Catholic laity, too.
In many ways, life in the Church would be much easier if the homosexuals all decamped for parts elsewhere, and left us in our heterosexual “misery.” Some do depart. Many become irreligious. But many stay and try to shoehorn themselves into the life of the Church even while maintaining that in some way, their “activities” are acceptable, and they often demand quite militantly the acceptance and approval of others.
My sense is the percentage of homosexuals hasn't changed much. What has changed is that the younger homosexuals are generally more orthodox than the more openly liberal older priests. But the old liberals are often less hypocritical.
“My sense is the percentage of homosexuals hasn’t changed much.”
My sense is the opposite. I think the reduction in reported abuse is a sign of that. I don’t buy that the homosexuals policed themselves, or that anything was done by the leadership. I just think there was less of a reason for them to join the priesthood, especially post-2002 or so when so many became aware of the abuse crisis and the culture embraced them so much that some states made it illegal to discriminate against them and ‘gay marriage’ started to become recognized as an issue.
Not that the current outrage and examination of the older gay leadership and their continuing scandal isn’t needed or a good thing. I hope the greater exposure just keeps rolling.
Freegards