I wrote about the problem in the Catholic Church and the sexual abuse of children and young people by priests in the Church. There is a debate whether this problem is mainly one of homosexuality among the priests. As I noted before over 80% of the victims of priests were young boys. To some that suggests a homosexual priest is more likely to commit a sexual offense against young children than a straight priest; to others it suggests that a priest whether homosexual or not, when under certain pressures, will assault a readily available victim and that usually is a boy.
The sexual assaults which are mainly upon young men have brought shame upon the Church. What if anything can be done about it? Some suggest the problem is that of the homosexual priest. If that is so is the solution then to ban all homosexual men from the priesthood and remove those who are?
Is it that simple? The initial problem with taking any action against homosexual priests is not what at first blush it seems to be. It would not be identifying such men who do not want to disclose their sexuality. It is more fundamental. It is to discover how would such an act fit within the teachings of the Church.
The Church’s Catechism states that “homosexual acts” are “intrinsically immoral and contrary to the natural law.” That definition is found under the section “II The Vocation to Chastity” which are numbered 2337 to 2359. It further states “homosexual tendencies” as “objectively disordered.”
The Catholic Church does not consider “homosexual orientation” sinful in and of itself, it does have a very negative attitude toward it. In 1986 it was stated: “Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”
The Catechism further states that “Homosexual persons are called to chastity.” It explains what chastity is and sets forth offenses against it which is pretty much all sexual acts outside of married life noting that “all the baptized are called to chastity.” Reading the section on chastity I’d suggest that very few have not offended against the teachings. The Church recognizes the harshness of its doctrine. To counterbalance that it recognizes in the Hail Mary that we are all “sinners” and has provided a mechanism for us to have our sins forgiven, even those against chastity.
It does though make special note about homosexuals saying, “Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” Barring young men who are gay from the priesthood would run afoul of such language. The Church would it have to change its teaching in regards to homosexuals if it barred such men from the priesthood.
How could it do that when it recognizes in its Catechism: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition.” If they have no choice then doesn’t the Church have to accept that their condition is part of God’s plan? If that is so then they must be afforded the rights and privileges of all members of the Church.
Perhaps then the solution to the Church’s dilemma is quite simple. It should do a better screening of those who want to become priests; and, it should have a no tolerance, or better put, a no cover-up policy. The Church should not again fall into the mistake made by Cardinal Law and others in the hierarchy who participated in hiding the sexual attacks on children to save the Church embarrassment. It should let in God’s sunlight which as we are told is the best disinfectant.
In doing this it should not hide that some, or many, priests are homosexual. The Church can, must and will cure itself to better its goal on earth when it makes clear that all are welcome as equals into its fold. It should be clear that all men who feel a vocation, straight or gay, may be admitted to the priesthood. It might even open the door to the priesthood to very talented distaff side and not deprive itself of their wisdom. They also had no choice.
.
Distinguish between Church and Men of the Church
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2018/09/de-mattei-church-and-men-of-church.html
“Bronx teacher who performed oral sex on 14-year-old gets 10 years probation, avoids jail, keeps teaching certificate.”
Sad story. The boy she performed oral sex on passed away. Apparently he died from ‘high fiving’.
(The above statement is a joke. 🙂
Honest:
No one should believe the abuse is confined to the Catholic Church. It is probably spread equally throughout many other groups in our society. The reason the Catholic Church’s abuse is so horrible is that those actions stand out so contrary to its teachings. The one thing it really had going for it was the reverence shown to priests which was different from that shown to others outside of religions. Priests were held to a higher standard and to see that so many (even though it may be no larger than others as I said) committed abuse against children is something that is devastating to many.
As I have told before, a good friend from Dorchester was abused back in the 1940’s. He told his father about it and his father beat the shit out of him and told him if he ever spoke of the incident again he would kill him. That is called a cover up at the highest expense to the victim. You didn’t want to be the one to bring that up to your neighbors and friends back in the day. And that attitude is still around. Not everyone feels liberated by this expose. It can’t be easy to admit that you were a victim. Some think is dirties you as much as the predator.
A Zen koan for Matt
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/ny-dori-myers-bronx-teacher-sentenced-probation-20180912-story.html
Bronx teacher who performed oral sex on 14-year-old gets 10 years probation, avoids jail, keeps teaching certificate
By MOLLY CRANE-NEWMAN
| NEW
also see
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-cops-prostitution-ring-20180912-story.html
Seven NYPD cops have been busted for their alleged involvement in a prostitution and gambling ring, the Daily News has learned.
Three sergeants, two detectives and two police officers were arrested and stripped of their guns and shields
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201809121067952530-Saudis-Terrorist-Crucible-FBI-CIA/
Saudis Created ‘Little Crucible’ for 9/11 Hijackers, CIA Never Told FBI© AP Photo / Gene Boyars
OPINION
04:00 12.09.2018(updated 04:04 12.09.2018) Get short URL
531
On the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Towers and damaged the Pentagon, Radio Sputnik spoke with the authors of a new book that hit shelves last month about the failures of the US intelligence community and heretofore unknown connection the hijackers had with the Saudi monarchy.
MS:
Oil will give you impunity. That’s apparently what the Saudis get for their involvement in 9/11 which never has really been investigated. Recall the only aircraft allowed to fly during the 9/11 shutdown was one carrying Saudis. They’ve never been a friend of the Americans since most of us aren’t of their religions; they’ve only been friends with our leaders. You do know great parts of Saudi Arabia are barred to people who do not profess a belief in Islam. Is there any other country in the world that bars non believers from wide swaths of their territory.
As for the cops being crooked or the teacher who abused the boy getting break, that like a dog bites man story.
Are you having problems with your Travel Agency, Abe ?
No !?!
All Free Thinkers are welcome in Hades !
Can you be punished for any thought if you are in Hell when you think it ?
“Are you having problems with your Travel Agency, Abe ?”
No! I’ve already got my ticket. I’m going to that place beyond Hell. (I hear that the only thing cold is the coffee.)
I use to hear something about impure thoughts. What is that all about? I know several people that were abused by priests. I painted the house of one of those priests, but that was about thirty years before I knew he abused kids.
This subject has way too many branches to cover here. I will say that anyone that thinks Jerry Sandusky is gay is missing the whole point.
If it is the “acts” that are sinful, the issue is moot in the light of celibacy. ” They can’t send you jail for what you’re thinkin'”.
Can you roast in Hell for what you are thinking?
That will be quite enough of your achey break heart, Ms. You know you jumped the Matt on that post ! Carry On .
Matt
As the Bic Mac has reminded us
“ he likes to beat it until it bleeds
and then he beats it for bleeding “
in other chromaticism news where every note
is equal
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/the-10-greatest-gay-composers-mardi-gras-special/
THE 10 GREATEST GAY COMPOSERS: MARDI GRAS SPECIAL!
Who was hot and who was not in the LGBT world of classical music? These composers will float your mardi gras float!
by Clive Paget on February 28, 2016
also see
https://www.noglstp.org
Welcome to the website of National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals. We realize those are a lot of words to say in one breath, so feel free to refer to us by our acronym, NOGLSTP. Pronounce it like this: “nah’-goal-step”.
ugh
://www.journalnow.com/news/crime/former-winston-salem-police-officer-convicted-of-animal-cruelty-in/article_2f813209-2106-5d4e-92e9-96935924a714.html
Former Winston-Salem police officer convicted of animal cruelty in Davidson County
By Michael Hewlett Winston-Salem Journal
You know if the U.S. Navy excluded Doctor Tom Dooley, M.D., we would not have had MEDICO and the the thousands of doctors working in Southeast Asia during those turbulent Vietnam War years and the preceding/following years. Doctors, nurses, public health folks, all volunteers, inspired by Tom Dooley’s good works and books. He died of leukemia in his thirties. He had his faults and failings. He was a homosexual. He did great service for humanity. His was a lifetime dedicated to helping others.
Matt correctly diagnosis the situation. It is not the orientation, it is the actions of some evil men who prey on children and adolescents. If 1% of men are pedophiles and another 1% pederasts (or prone to either) and another 1% of men are interested sexually in minors (girls or boys under 18,let’s say for definitional sakes, although three 16 year-olds have posed as centerfolds in Playboy and no one could tell if they were 20 or so; but if they’re still in high school you can presume they’re a minor, so let’s make that the cutt-off point . . .I’d make it the draft age, 18.5, before a young woman could join the military or the Teddy Bear Lounge’s Dance Team or consent to an affair with a college professor or rock star or newly ordained minister or rabbi . . .18.5 seems fair) . . . So, that’s the 3% of Predators to screen from the Priesthood, Boy Scouts, Public School Teachers’ jobs, etc . . .
and for all professions if any adult molests a high schooler or younger, let’s disclose, arrest, prosecute to fullest extent of the law . . .
But also, bear in mind, Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin, and Elvis Presley was basically engaged to a 16 year old, and I read recently a sixty year old lucky guy married an 18 year old model; they were divorced when she was 20; but got remarried again when she was 22; something like that. . .and remember Anthony Quinn at age 80 had his tenth child with his 37 year old wife, his fourth wife, whom he had four kids with and married when she was in her twenties, and Tony Randall at 72 married a twenty-something and had three kids and lived until he was ninety, and remember Romeo and Juliet, and Leonard Cohen’s song, “There Ain’t No Cure For Love” and spin the bottle . . .
And remember, Sex is Good: that’s how we all got here. And I re-reference the MFA’s book “Aphrodite and the Gods of Love”, (posted yesterday) that showed in ancient times all the models for all those beautiful sculptures (from 1,000 B.C. to 1,000 A.D.) were young women between the ages of 18 and 21, as all the Playboy Models and Dance Hall girls were between 18 and 24 when we were growing up . . . It’s Nature’s Natural Way of Telling Us what the Ideal Time is for Love and Marriage . . . .or Love and Procreation . . . .or SEX . . .
Sex is good between consenting adults . . .
So, we agree: Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Purge our Institutions which cater to the young, purge them of those Predators who prey on the young. When accused, fully investigate, prosecute the Predators; when found culpable, SIBERIA for LIFE.
And take care: I too know three honorable men, a teacher, a businessman, a priest, falsely accused of sexual assault/harassment and fully cleared after careful investigation . . .the allegations are highly publicized, the exonerations hidden . . .
Rx: Purge the Predators from all Offices . . . .Banish them to Pit Bull Island off the northern coast of Siberia . . .as far away from minors as humanely possible . . . .Execute serial repeat offenders . . .Make America Safe Again . . .
Matt:
Is the last refuge of a pederast priest the PC bastion of Homosexuality ? … You are in the right church, but the wrong bench , here, searching for friendly Lefty faces, and handshakes that suit PC platitudes to actions. Clearly…..” We’re Here, We’re Queer, Get used to it !!! ” … And the … Ave Marias of the Vatican Vampers … are not going to form a coalition.
No, Matt, forget the Gay gambit. It is a worthy gambit. One that seeks to position the Church in the throes of the upheavals of a Gay Culture that the Church catechises against. Pope Franky and his Papal bullshitting about the Church embracing homosexuals, aside, he finds himself now being compelled to throw the Gays he wants to bring into the Church under the Papalmobile ! The GAYS , of course, suppose that their ranks have not , like the ranks of the Heterosexuals, ever included pederasts or pedophiles. That is PC Living in a Fool’s Paranoia !
The notion that a young man might early on identity himself as a homosexual and that this must preclude, therefore, his becoming a Catholic Priest, militates against every Liberal principle you have espoused on this blog, Matt .
POPE SEAN O’MALLEY !!!
Mark it !!!