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To: SnakeDoctor; Judith Anne
I believe celibacy contributes to the problem of homosexuality in the priesthood, as I believe that men that are disinterested in marriage are more likely to be deviant in one way or another. I don’t believe I ever connected celibacy to pedophilia, though.

Your statement seems to imply that you have equated celibacy with disinterest with marriage - although this is a common misconception, it is patently false.

The vocation of marriage is a good. However, the celibate willingly forgoes this good because God has called him or her to live without a spouse for the betterment of His Kingdom - see I Cor. 7 for St. Paul's explanation of this. Celibacy (properly understood) is also a good - and is the greater good for those God has chosen for it.

Those who are homosexuals, pedophiles, and ephebophiles have historically used celibacy as a means of concealing their own temptations and sinful acts, because the celibate lifestyle allowed them to either hide their inclinations or (in the unfortunate cases we hear about now) act upon them and still remain above suspicion.

If a person is discerning a celibate life and seems to have no attraction whatsoever to marriage, it is viewed as a 'red flag' that something is amiss, and would be something that would lead to not being ordained (in the case of a seminarian) or not being admitted to final vows (in the case of a religious). The embrace of celibacy is not simply a rejection of married life - rather it is the free acceptance of celibate chastity for the sake of building up God's kingdom. Those who have sought a celibate lifestyle as a manner of hiding should never have been admitted and ordained/professed - because they couldn't choose celibacy in freedom due to the chains of their perversions.

There are plenty of homosexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts whose "interest in marriage" has not quenched their perversions. Thus while disinterest in (heterosexual) marriage ties to the other perversions, there is nothing inherent in celibacy that ties to any of the perversions.

25 posted on 04/14/2010 8:57:22 AM PDT by GCC Catholic (0bama, what are you hiding? Just show us the birth certificate...)
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To: GCC Catholic

I do not believe that celibacy necessarily indicates a lack of interest in marriage/women — but I believe it can be a good hide-out for those who are disinterested and don’t want to answer a bunch of questions about their lack of interest.

SnakeDoc


36 posted on 04/14/2010 9:28:36 AM PDT by SnakeDoctor ("The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant [...] that even a god-king can bleed.")
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