Are you still Catholic? Are you still Christian? My husband and I converted to Catholicism 40 years ago but the abuse scandals have taken a toll, not so much on my faith in God, or even in basic Catholic theology, but in knowing the church is corrupt and has been for a very, very long time, since the whole priestly celibacy thing began.
I still consider myself a Roman Catholic who follows the official teachings of the Catholic Church. However, because the priests in my area are closeted homosexuals whose preaching reflects a very watered down and (in some cases) heretical Catholism, I attend a Missouri Lutheran Church in which the pastor and members of the congregation know that I cannot theologically convert to Lutheranism. Remember that Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X (a sexually active homosexual) who years later was followed by Pope Julius III who had sex with 15-year-old Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte whom he made a cardinal at the age of 17. When I studied Church History in the seminary, the professor never mentioned this and just talked about how Luther was upset with Leo for selling indulgences to help pay for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. A woman whom I baptized here in State College 49 years ago drives with her husband and seven children to Snow Shoe, PA (a 2.5 hour round trip drive) every Sunday to attend Mass where one of the few remaining heterosexually oriented priests in the diocese is stationed. She's not afraid that a gay priest here in State College might abuse one of her children (because she would never leave them out of her sight), but she does not want her children to be misled by the watered down, woke, pro-LGBTQ, "save the planet" distorted theology of the local closeted Catholic gay pastors. Also, you are right about the church being corrupt "since the whole priestly celibacy thing began." One of my upcoming articles will examine this in detail. Thank you for reading my column and please encourage other relatives and friends to subscribe reminding them that it's free and should not put them to sleep. May you, your family, and friends have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
I think "infestation" could be a word that would cause pain to some people. More than anything I really feel sorry for these men. It must be so damaging to have that kind of loss of integrity where you are pretending to be celibate but are not. And for the men who got HIV-it must be so isolating. At the beginning, they must have spent a lot of time suffering and not knowing how to get help.
I think the laity need to really ask themselves a lot more questions about the clergy. What are we asking them to do? And it is humane? This day-in-age, celibacy is probably harder than it was a thousand years ago.
"Homosexual" needs to be better defined in our culture. I think it is too broad a term so that it could be thought of as an inclination, orientation, or behavior. Some people define it as unchosen while some think it is chosen.
I feel like you are talking about a kind of homosexuality that is at least partially chosen. It is a behavior that some people may be more drawn to than others. You also describe it as a response to having been abused during psychosexual development. And perhaps there is an element of acclimation and contagion. In some seminaries, men are acclimated to this behavior in a way that, for whatever reason, is hard to resist.
I agree it is a problem. One thing that strikes me is that homosexuality does seem quite at odds with being women friendly. There is a stereotype that gay men are "sensitive". I do not think this is true. So the Roman Catholic Church is run by men who really don't understand women and really have zero desire to understand women. It is unhealthy.
Laura, Thank you for your compassionate and insightful response. Your comments about homosexuality being "at odds with being women friendly" and the Church being "run by men who really don't understand women and really have zero desire to understand women" are comments I have heard from other intelligent women. I have discovered that closeted clerics often avoid women because women, far better than men, can separate straight men from gay men. I find it interesting that just as many bishops and priests did not want to talk about McCarrick whom they knew was hitting on seminarians and young priests, so too do these same Churchmen - along with the mainstream and Catholic media - do not want to talk about how Pope Francis is as gay as sexually active Pope Leo X who excommunicated Martin Luther and Pope Julius III who “shared [his] bedroom and bed” with 15-year-old Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte whom he made a cardinal at the age of 17.
Are you still Catholic? Are you still Christian? My husband and I converted to Catholicism 40 years ago but the abuse scandals have taken a toll, not so much on my faith in God, or even in basic Catholic theology, but in knowing the church is corrupt and has been for a very, very long time, since the whole priestly celibacy thing began.
I still consider myself a Roman Catholic who follows the official teachings of the Catholic Church. However, because the priests in my area are closeted homosexuals whose preaching reflects a very watered down and (in some cases) heretical Catholism, I attend a Missouri Lutheran Church in which the pastor and members of the congregation know that I cannot theologically convert to Lutheranism. Remember that Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X (a sexually active homosexual) who years later was followed by Pope Julius III who had sex with 15-year-old Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte whom he made a cardinal at the age of 17. When I studied Church History in the seminary, the professor never mentioned this and just talked about how Luther was upset with Leo for selling indulgences to help pay for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. A woman whom I baptized here in State College 49 years ago drives with her husband and seven children to Snow Shoe, PA (a 2.5 hour round trip drive) every Sunday to attend Mass where one of the few remaining heterosexually oriented priests in the diocese is stationed. She's not afraid that a gay priest here in State College might abuse one of her children (because she would never leave them out of her sight), but she does not want her children to be misled by the watered down, woke, pro-LGBTQ, "save the planet" distorted theology of the local closeted Catholic gay pastors. Also, you are right about the church being corrupt "since the whole priestly celibacy thing began." One of my upcoming articles will examine this in detail. Thank you for reading my column and please encourage other relatives and friends to subscribe reminding them that it's free and should not put them to sleep. May you, your family, and friends have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
The same to you! Thank you for your thoughtful reply!
No wonder the church is so corrupt and the laity and their religious condition is a mess!
I think "infestation" could be a word that would cause pain to some people. More than anything I really feel sorry for these men. It must be so damaging to have that kind of loss of integrity where you are pretending to be celibate but are not. And for the men who got HIV-it must be so isolating. At the beginning, they must have spent a lot of time suffering and not knowing how to get help.
I think the laity need to really ask themselves a lot more questions about the clergy. What are we asking them to do? And it is humane? This day-in-age, celibacy is probably harder than it was a thousand years ago.
"Homosexual" needs to be better defined in our culture. I think it is too broad a term so that it could be thought of as an inclination, orientation, or behavior. Some people define it as unchosen while some think it is chosen.
I feel like you are talking about a kind of homosexuality that is at least partially chosen. It is a behavior that some people may be more drawn to than others. You also describe it as a response to having been abused during psychosexual development. And perhaps there is an element of acclimation and contagion. In some seminaries, men are acclimated to this behavior in a way that, for whatever reason, is hard to resist.
I agree it is a problem. One thing that strikes me is that homosexuality does seem quite at odds with being women friendly. There is a stereotype that gay men are "sensitive". I do not think this is true. So the Roman Catholic Church is run by men who really don't understand women and really have zero desire to understand women. It is unhealthy.
Laura, Thank you for your compassionate and insightful response. Your comments about homosexuality being "at odds with being women friendly" and the Church being "run by men who really don't understand women and really have zero desire to understand women" are comments I have heard from other intelligent women. I have discovered that closeted clerics often avoid women because women, far better than men, can separate straight men from gay men. I find it interesting that just as many bishops and priests did not want to talk about McCarrick whom they knew was hitting on seminarians and young priests, so too do these same Churchmen - along with the mainstream and Catholic media - do not want to talk about how Pope Francis is as gay as sexually active Pope Leo X who excommunicated Martin Luther and Pope Julius III who “shared [his] bedroom and bed” with 15-year-old Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte whom he made a cardinal at the age of 17.