Posted on 03/29/2010 2:17:12 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
A Roman Catholic archbishop who resigned in 2002 over a sex and financial scandal involving a man has written a memoir that describes how he struggled with being gay.
Archbishop Rembert Weakland, former head of the Milwaukee archdiocese, "is up front about his homosexuality in a church that preferred to ignore gays," Publisher's Weekly wrote in a review Monday.
The book, "A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop," is set to be released in June and is described by the publisher as a self-examination by Weakland of his "psychological, spiritual and sexual growth."
The Vatican says that men with "deep-seated" attraction to other men should not be ordained.
Weakland stepped down quickly after Paul Marcoux, a former Marquette University theology student, revealed in May 2002 that he was paid $450,000 to settle a sexual assault claim he made against the archbishop more than two decades earlier. The money came from the archdiocese.
Marcoux went public at the height of anger over the clergy sex abuse crisis, when Catholics and others were demanding that dioceses reveal the extent of molestation by clergy and how much had been confidentially spent to settle claims.
Weakland denied ever assaulting anyone. He apologized for concealing the payment.
In an August 1980 letter that was obtained by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Weakland said he was in emotional turmoil over Marcoux and signed the letter, "I love you."
"During the last months, I have come to know how strained I was, tense, pensive, without much joy," Weakland wrote. "I felt like the world's worst hypocrite. So gradually I came back to the importance of celibacy in my life."
The revelations rocked the Milwaukee archdiocese, which Weakland had led since 1977. But when he publicly read a letter of apology for the scandal, Milwaukee parishioners gave him a a standing ovation.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee released a public statement last week alerting local Catholics that the book is soon to be published and that it deals in part with Weakland's relationship with Marcoux and the scandal.
"Some people will be angry about the book, others will support it," the archdiocese said.
Weakland, who has been a hero for liberal Catholics because of his work on social justice and other issues, will also address in the memoirs his failures to stop abusive priests.
In a videotaped deposition released last November, Weakland admitted returning guilty priests to active ministry without alerting parishioners or police.
Advocates for abuse victims said that Weakland's cover up of his own sexual activity was part of a pattern of secrecy that included concealing the criminal behavior of child molesters.
The archbishop did not respond Monday to an e-mail request for comment. Weakland, a Benedictine, plans to move to St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown, N.J., this summer.
U.S. Catholics have long debated whether the priesthood had become a predominantly gay vocation. Estimates vary from 25 percent to 50 percent, according to a review of research on the issue by the Rev. Donald Cozzens, author of "The Changing Face of the Priesthood."
Cozzens, a former seminary rector, said in an interview that Weakland's acknowledgment of his sexual orientation "cuts into the denial that relatively few priests or bishops are gay."
But Russell Shaw, a former spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, questioned whether the book would have much impact.
"That one controversial archbishop acknowledges what everybody's known for several years," Shaw said, "I don't think that's going to make any big difference."
>> So, when a Protestant falls, it is weakness of his character. When a Catholic does the same thing, it is due to institutional failings. <<
Both are symptoms of charachter weakness, it is just there is a bigger institutional failing in one than the other.
The Instututional failing feeds the personal weakness failure and does nothign to fix the issue.
Or portray celibate priests as gay priests. But that goes for other "camps" as well.
The gift of celibacy is apparently much rarer among men than the Catholic Church seems to think. Personally, I have difficulty describing celibacy as a “gift”, much less even considering practicing it.
SnakeDoc
>> I see you didn;t answer the question about what your parents did to SUPPORT the CHRUCH and the SCHOOL!! Did they think it was FREE??? geeesh. <<
They donated generously, paid for their six kids through Catholic School, Paid FULL PRICE even thoguh they got a “catholic” discount, worked to try keep the school open via bake sales raffles etc..... You HAVE NO IDEA how much time they spent to help the church and we grew up on a farm so it wasn’t like time was something easliy spared.
I mean really. If the Rev who is quoted in this article is accurate that 25-50 percent of Catholic priests are gay how on earth would they be able to provide to advise man and woman married couples in a marriage?
Forgiveness can be a quirky thing....one can forgive but the memory is not erased...
>> Can someone who is Catholic please explain to me how it is that if you are celebate, you can be either straight or gay. It seems that if you give up sex, then it is a non issue.
I am not Catholic ... but I would figure that even the celibate have sexual urges and temptations. So, a celibate priest is straight if he is resisting women, and gay if he is resisting men.
SnakeDoc
>> Labeled you as a jealous person though. <<
Stil haven’t read post #55 or contributed any ideas for how to fix this. Until then... Keep telling me things about myself you have no idea about because it is amusing to me.
Read post#55 respond 1,2,3 or contribute your idea.
Or go ahead and call me names and try to psycho-analyse me.
how can a celibate priest advise a married couple of a man and woman about sex?
>> The gift of celibacy is apparently much rarer among men than the Catholic Church seems to think. Personally, I have difficulty describing celibacy as a “gift”, much less even considering practicing it.
SnakeDoc <<
Of course those in the medical establishment would label someone who is naturally celebate as having a “sexual disorder” and someone who abuses children as having an “illness”.
the book he wrote being for sale in june of this year is news
That you don’t understand St. Paul or celibacy doesn’t exactly increase your credibility on on the subject for me.
I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense. It seems you have a need to blame the Catholic church. I’m sorry they closed your school and everything, but come on, get over it.
>> That is what I understand as well...same with that Jimmy Baker fellow...and other tv evangelists types. Swaggert was another one I think. One of them thought in short order they could return to their same ministry....didn’t work. Too much public outcry.
Forgiveness can be a quirky thing....one can forgive but the memory is not erased... <<
Swaggert is a good example of power leading to lust leading to downfall.
The problem with these heretic bishops and predatory homosexual priests is SIN. They are all guilty of various venial sins, and one mortal one - PRIDE. They have set themselves up above God and decided that what they want is the most important thing in the world. They have broken their vows and committed what Jesus regarded as the worst sin, and worthy of death, the violation of the innocent young. They should all be burned at the stake.
You mean about what goes where? Or do you mean that sex has nothing to do with holiness and that chastity is not part of being Christian?
The same way my well-meaning batchelor brother and college-student sister have unending parenting advice for my wife and I. Haha.
SnakeDoc
um i’m not a moderator but that is a personal attack if i’ve ever seen one
>> how can a celibate priest advise a married couple of a man and woman about sex? <<
Put on a Veggie Tales DVD? Just kidding, they are supposed to take courses on this, My Brother got some great advise from the local Catholic priest about his marrige, then they shuffled him out so they could send in the “hatchet man” Father Scott to close the school and act like the arrogant ass he was.
>> The problem with these heretic bishops and predatory homosexual priests is SIN. They are all guilty of various venial sins, and one mortal one - PRIDE. They have set themselves up above God and decided that what they want is the most important thing in the world. They have broken their vows and committed what Jesus regarded as the worst sin, and worthy of death, the violation of the innocent young. They should all be burned at the stake. <<
PRIDE before the fall, I fear this will be the undoing of the Catholic Church. Which is sad because they used to do so much good, Maybe the fall started with Vatican II.
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