Posted on 06/21/2002 10:14:02 PM PDT by cathway
The following statement has been issued by Father Kevin A. Codd, Rector of The American College, concerning allegations made about The College in the recently published book Goodbye! Good Men.
It is with sadness that I am obliged in the interests of justice and truth to respond briefly to scurrilous charges made against The American College of the Immaculate Conception, its students, and faculty members in the book Goodbye! Good Men, by Michael S. Rose.
First of all, the former student upon whose testimony the allegations are based was dismissed from The American College seminary program with just and reasonable cause. The Formation Faculty’s professional decision to dismiss him in June 2000 was unanimous. All of us who were members of the Formation Faculty at the time stand by this decision without any hesitation or regret.
This former student has leveled serious charges against another seminarian as well as the Rector at the time. These charges were investigated thoroughly by the President of the USCCB’s Committee for The American College, The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, and were found to be wholly without merit or substantiation.
The publication of these accusations now in Mr. Rose’s book is tantamount to calumny. Mr. Rose himself did not investigate the charges but accepted them at face value solely on the basis of the former student’s testimony. In an effort to bolster the false accusations against members of The College, documents quoted by Mr. Rose, consisting primarily of the student’s final evaluation by the Formation Faculty, have been substantially edited and in some significant instances actually changed from the original.
Mr. Rose never contacted The American College to authenticate his documentation, to seek further documentation, or to give us our rightful opportunity to respond to the accusations made in his book. Mr. Rose has never visited The American College and does not personally know any of our students or faculty members about whom he repeats these egregious accusations.
Contrary to the claims put forth in Mr. Rose’s book, The American College is a most healthy seminary community in which the priestly commitment to celibacy is honored by all, seminarians and faculty alike. Immoral sexual activity is not tolerated. A “gay subculture” does not exist at The American College.
Such is the truth of The American College. Please do not simply take my word for it: anyone who knows us will attest to this truth. All are welcome to visit us and see the truth for themselves. We have nothing to hide. Mr. Rose is welcome as well.
Finally, to all seminarians looking for a place that will challenge them to become faithful, zealous, and wise priests, I say simply and sincerely:
Welcome! Good Men…to The American College at Louvain!
For the life of me, I cannot think of any type of sexual activity that would be tolerated on the grounds of a Catholic seminary. I think Codd needs to be more specific about the "morals" he's supposed to be teaching to the students.
For another critical look at GOODBYE, GOOD MEN, go to CULTURE WARS.
Rose excuses himself from not checking with any current seminary rectors because he knows that the situation in seminaries has improved since John Paul II's requirement in 1992 that sexual matters be frankly addressed and discussed.
If today's seminaries are not as portrayed in Rose's book (Rose never bothered to check with the men in charge, and took the word of disgruntled and dismissed seminarians), then his is a period piece, valid fifteen years ago but not reflective of current conditions.
Not everyone who speaks parses words. Clinton has ruined all of us in that regard.
I think you know that Fr. Codd means that no sexual activity is tolerated.
You are mistaken; I do not think that. Please don't place the blame for my reservations about Codd's double-speak on Clinton (scumbag that he is). My reservations are due to the actions,past and present, of many American Catholic cardinals, bishops and priests.
Well, if you don't believe Fr. Codd, then I'm sure he's heartbroken.
Where did I say I don't believe what Codd said?
I've read what he said, I quoted ver batim what he said and I am not denying that he said it.
What I don't believe is your feeble interpretation of what he "meant" to say.
You think he means that there is sexual activity at Louvain, but that he doesn't think it's immoral?
Why don't you take him up on his offer? Go see?
God, but you are one cynical human being.
I think you know that Fr. Codd means that no sexual activity is tolerated.
You sure do a lot of thinking for me.
And that investigation has about as much credibility as Mullah Omar's investigation which found that allegations against Osama Bin Laden were without merit or substantiation.
Sad to say I no longer believe anything a Priest or a Bishop has to say unless I personally can verify what is said. Lying seems to be an integral part of the culture.
Given how you parse words, maybe somebody needs to.
Check this out:
Prof. Joseph Selling, chairman of the Department of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain, gave the symposium a progress report on the gradualist strategy for the Church's acceptance of sodomy.Is the teaching going to continue to evolve? With respect to the homosexual relationship, will it evolve toward encompassing it? Yes, it will! We have already taken the first step. Begrudgingly as we might like to admit, even the teaching of the Church has recognized the homosexual person, the homosexual orientation. It may be very uncomfortable with its own statements, but it's there! The homosexual person is a person and no less of a person than anyone else. This is the first step. The second step is the recognition of the homosexual relationship. I think we are virtually on the edge of accepting the homosexual relationship. The Church will accept the homosexual relationship, like those divorced and remarried: We must live as brother and sister or brother and brother and sister and sister as the case may be... [The audience laughs.] What is important is that the relationship be recognized as a valuable, fruitful, meaningful, affirmative, creative relationship. We are on the verge of accepting this. The third step is: Can we accept the homosexual act? Before we can talk about the morality of the homosexual act, we have to define it, to understand exactly what it is.... Our whole understanding of human sexuality needs to be rewritten, but rewritten not from a "procreative or reproductive" point of view. It needs to be rewritten from a "relational" point of view.
Sure sounds like the chairman of the Department of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain is not teaching what the Church teaches.
I did a search on www.google.com and used the words --Louvain gay seminaries -- and got quite an education. You might be surprised.
Rose certainly has not been repudiated in either of the two (ONLY TWO) columns written about his book by naysayers. The first column you refer to tries to discredit one of the witnesses, but the columnist agrees with what most of the book states.
Bwaaahaahaa!
Always our Children. Need I say more?
Rose did not speak with one single rector or authority in any of the seminaries whom he singles out in his book. He puts forth the lame excuse that "well, we already know what they would say." Rather than attempt to present a complete picture, he interviews disgruntled seminarians, and those with an axe to grind.
A complete picture is presented when you take Rose's book and put it together with what the Bishops have been saying for years. Presenting both sides of the picture was unnecessary because we have NEVER heard from the seminarians themselves.
If you listen to most of the Bishops, everything is just fine! "Immoral sexual activity is not tolerated. A “gay subculture” does not exist at The American College. Depends on what the meaning of "Immoral sexual activity" is, I guess. Evidently the Chairman of the Department of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain has a different meaning for "Immoral sexual activity" than I do. And if there is no gay subculture at Louvain, than why does the Chairman address the issue?
Are you perhaps saying that there is no problem in the seminaries? I have acquaintances who have attended and dropped out of St. John's Seminary in Brighton, MA for exactly what Rose states in his book.
Not there there are no problems, but that the seminaries are getting better. I've read two or three articles on FR which actually interview seminary rectors and seminarians. Now, I know some will say that they're unreliable, but how many instances of abuse have we heard which occurred since 1990? A few, but most are from the 60's and 70s.
There are probably many active homosexuals in the priesthood, but there appears to be no urgency among bishops to kick them out, nor would Rome be wild about them doing so.
Probaby.
Of course there is no urgency among the Bishops to kick them out and how do you know what Rome thinks? Whatever Rome says, the Bishops seem to ignore anyway.
You haven't addressed your original post regarding the statement about Michael Rose by Father Kevin A. Codd, the Rector of The American College. Why does Fr. Codd have the Chairman of the Department of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Louvain, gaving a symposium and a progress report on the gradualist strategy for the Church's acceptance of sodomy if there is no "immoral sexual activity" going on there?
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