Posted on 11/13/2001 4:25:45 PM PST by RobertBauman
ROME -- The helmet of Mychal Judge, the 68-year-old chaplain for the New York Fire Department killed while administering last rites to a dying firefighter on September 11 in New York, was presented to Pope John Paul II following Sunday mass at the Vatican.
Judge was a member of Dignity, the organization that represents the interests of lesbian and gay Catholics, though there was no mention made of this during the mass.
"I offer a warm welcome to the delegation from the New York City Fire Department, so many of whose members lost their lives in the terrorist attack of September 11," John Paul II said in English to the New York delegation made up of family members and fire fighters attending the Mass at St Peter's Basilica.
The delegation approached the pope and knelt before him as one of the firefighters gave John Paul the white helmet emblazoned with a gold cross.
Former President Bill Clinton and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton were among the more than 3,000 mourners who attended the chaplain's funeral on September 15 in New York. The president called Judge's death a special loss and said, "We should live his life as an example of what has to prevail."
He was a close friend of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
AIDS philanthropist Edward Maloney told the Advocate he once asked Judge how he survived in New York's conservative archdiocese. "He put his fingers to his lips as if to shush the question."
Said Maloney, "Father Judge was neither out nor closeted. He knew how to walk that fine line and work behind the scenes. He brought bravery, dedication, loyalty -- and a touch of sexuality -- to the two institutions he cherished: the church and the fire department."
Nope. I read the reports and none of them stated any proof at all that he was a homosexual. Remember when there was the mini-scandal when some tried to insult Matt Drudge by claiming he was a homosexual? It is much the same thing they are trying to do now without any proof.
38 posted on 11/13/01 6:35 PM Pacific by RobertBauman
You really should give up on this. There are many Roman Catholics on FR, and *not one* would defend a pedophile priest, but I'll bet most (if not all) will defend a homosexual priest who died a hero, as much a hero as any other of the rescue personnel who died at the WTC.
Thank you. The reason for posting the article is to keep the truth alive and expose attempts by liberal groups to spin the WTC tragedy into an argument for such things as special rights for homosexuals. They are trying to push their agenda and it is important to expose how morally bankrupt their arguments are.
I wasn't referring to a pedophile priest. I was just saying how the argument the person was using didn't make sense. Just because someone is a part of a maligned minority group (like pedophiles) doesn't automatically mean we have to bend over backwards to give them special legitimacy.
And regarding Father Mike, why do you refer to him as a 'homosexual'? None of the firefighters who knew him ever did. I would think they knew him best.
There were reports last year that Matt Drudge was gay. Are you going to just casually accept that garbage without challenging it too? Just because a homosexual activist like Andrew Sullivan claims Father Mike was homosexual, we aren't required to immediately accept that claim.
I seem to have stumped you. That was the point in mentioning Matt. He was falsely maligned by the homosexual community trying to claim him as one of their own. No one fell for the bait. Now with Father Mike, all of a sudden people want so badly to identify him as a homosexual man without any proof whatsoever. Very interesting.
As a RC-FReeper, yes I would defend a "homosexual" priest, or any other hero who gave his life to save others. It's moot in Catholic tradition, however, it doesn't apply to a priest who keeps his vow of celebacy. It doesn't even enter into the equation.
I think Mr. Baumann's reason for posting the article, from my take on it anyway, was that he was pointing out the fact that the gay "agenda" can't leave "sleeping/dead dogs lay". We didn't need to "hear" that he was gay, it didn't make him more/less of a hero. The gay agenda took it upon themselves to "point" to the issue, instead of letting the rest of us remember who we was. The man was a hero, and was well respected in the community and the fire dept. Just imho.....
But the Franciscans had a real problem with homosexual priests who were not honorable and not celibate, and they flooded the order. An older friend of mine who had been a Franciscan for almost 25 years in 1971 (he was a gunnery sgt. in WWII and joined after the war) told me that suddenly all of the young brothers were grabbing each other's backsides and being encouraged in directives from the General's office to masturbate. He was stationed in San Francisco, and the majority of the men who were joining there in the 70s were people who would never have been permitted past the door only a few years before.
So I think we've got to see Fr. Mychal in perspective. Was he brave and dedicated to the FD? Yes. Was he a raving queen? No. Was he a celibate man who was less interested in women than in men? Possibly.
And in any case, Andrew Sullivan (whom I like a lot, generally) is doing Fr. Mychal a disservice by focusing on something that was probably, to Fr. Mychal himself, not the defining thing in his life. One hopes - and believes - that it was his faith defined his life, and not his - uh, private parts.
Excerpt:..To one of his antagonists, a certain monsignor in the chancellery who frequently phoned to admonish him, Judge once said: "If I've ever done anything to embarrass or hurt the church I love so much, you can burn me at the stake in front of St. Patrick's."
Being homosexual would embarass and hurt Judge's church, therefore he is either a liar and gay, or another defenseless dead person calumnized in order to further the homosexual agenda.
Which is it?
The evidence of his own words leads me to conclude the latter.
R.I.P. Mychal Judge
A personal story comes to mind. I know a Benedictine monk (brother, not a priest) who considers himself homosexual, but not practicing, and told me so. I assumed as much, considering what else he'd told, and a few mannerisms. I was somewhat offended that he told me, since I cared more about what he contributed to his Order, which was considerable; he was a music teacher, organist, even wrote music. Having known many priests in my life time, and assume all are/were celibate, I prefer to view them in that manner, than having sexual preference, excluding pedophilia.
According to the homosexual community, they are JUST like us, except that they are attracted to members of their own sex. If that person is living a celebate life, then why would he wish to identify with that community?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.