Vatican plan to block gay priests
The new Pope faces his first controversy over the direction of the Catholic church after it was revealed that the Vatican has drawn up a religious instruction preventing gay men from being priests. (source)
But then who’s going to be priests? It’s more of the effort of the church to scapegoat gay men concerning the molestation of children. They will try to be careful how they say that, but it’s an attempt to pull attention away from the scandal.
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You are right about how much the Catholic Church has changed. For a time during my childhood, Emmett (Idaho) was building a new grade school. I was in second grade at the time (see my first grade photo if you want to see what I looked like then).
During that period, we all went to Sacred Heart School, a school taught and run by nuns. They were strict, but I have to say that the experience was a good one for me. I actually had fun. For some reason, all the nuns loved me. After a year, we left to go to our new school.
I never really knew a lot about catholics growing up, because it was a small town and there were few Catholics. It was only later when the Pope started saying awful things about our community that I started to really form my opinion.
And then of course, there is the whole child molestation issue and the way the church is dealing with it (or not dealing with it, depending on how you feel). Somehow, I always knew that they would try to pin that on gay men, despite the fact that being gay has nothing to do what so ever with being a child molester. Some people still think we are, and the church is counting on that.
It's reprehensible and irresponsible. But mainly, it's just plain dangerous to the children because those molesting kids are left in their current postitions while the church makes it look like they are addressing the problem by preventing gay men from entering the priesthood.
All that being said, I say let them ban gay men from the priesthood. It could just be the last straw that tears them apart. I honestly don't know if they understand the number of gay priests they have, many of whom are not out of the closet. And the really ironic thing is that they don't see all the contributions gay people have made to their church in it's history and continue to make in present day.
The Vatican... the Sistine Chapel... on and on... designed and painted by a gay man.
I went to Catholic schools in the '60s. During that time, the Church in the U.S. was very liberal and anti-war. Quite a few of the nuns carried guitars and we sang Cat Stevens in class. We had "folk masses" that were presented by young people.
Now, the Church is dominated by conservatives like William Donohue and William F. Buckley. What happened to the liberal congregation? They've all left the Church! They thought the Church was becoming more progressive with Vatican II -- opening the possibility of women priests, elimination of celebacy for priests, less rigid stance on divorce. But, it never happened and the progressives left the Church.
Damn... and to think that I was considering turning Catholic.
And I know this is just my personal baggage, but every time I hear the word "Catholic", I can't help it -- I think of catheters.
A friend of mine asked me to attend one of the churches in Hartford, that is Catholic, because it is "more enlightened" (lots of gay people) than most Catholic churches. They sing, are merry, and "happy" in the "Love of Christ".
My response, which was immediate, was, "I'd rather drink bull urine!". Her jaw dropped.
Those who know me in real life know that some pretty outrageous things come out of my mouth at times. I say exactly what I feel - sometimes it's well thought out, and other times it's an emotional gut-level response. I consider both to be valid. Emotional responses may not be based totally in "fact", but emotional responses are at their base, formed in real-life experiences. That, to me, gives it validity.
The Catholic church is one of the most fucked up churches there is... on so many levels.
1) The church doesn't support the belief that being gay has a genetic component -- they believe it is a choice.
2) Priests CHOOSE to be celebate.
Therefore, by the Catholic Church's definition, THERE ARE NO GAY PRIESTS!
If the Church is going to block gay priests, they'll have to develop some kind of "gay test."
Maybe they'll attach wires to their genitals and show them gay porn.
Or, they could try binding their hands and feet and throwing them in a moat. If they drown, they're not gay. If they survive, they're obviously possessed by the devil and likely gay.