U.S. Catholics Are Divided Over New Directive on Gays

[Thom Little]

By Neela Banerjee and Katie Zezima
New York Times
Monday, Nov. 28, 2005


Grappling with the implications of a Vatican directive issued last week that would bar most gay men from seminaries, Roman Catholics at several parishes around the country yesterday offered sharply contrasting interpretations of its impact on the priesthood, on the potential for sex abuse by clergy members and on the church itself.

More than three dozen interviews at churches in Los Angeles and around Boston, Washington and Austin, Tex., underscored that Catholics were as divided as the rest of the country in their attitudes about gay men and lesbians. Roughly half the Catholics interviewed praised the Vatican document as upholding church teachings, which consider homosexuality "objectively disordered." But just as many parishioners criticized it as unfair to gay men, saying that a priest's commitment to celibacy should be the issue, not his sexual orientation.

Similarly, some Catholics said that because the majority of victims in the scandals involving sexually abusive priests were boys, barring gay men from the priesthood would reduce the likelihood of such abuse in the future. But others said there was no link between homosexuality and pedophilia, especially many parishioners in Boston, an archdiocese profoundly affected by the sexual abuse scandal.

Both sides largely predicted that if the directive, or instruction, was vigorously enforced, it would reduce the number of priests ordained in the Catholic church at a time when it is grappling with an acute shortage of clergy members. Yet supporters of the Vatican's stance said that such a step was necessary to root out priests whom they considered dangerous.




http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/national/28catholic.html

[MADem]

1. Benny Hill, or some other comedian, did a sight gag about some monks

back in the old days misspelling CELEBRATE as CELIBATE.

Seriously, why do they CARE what consenting adults do with their own fiddly bits? It really is a curious obsession on their part.

So long as they aren't out in the street frightening the horses, it should be no one's worry.

[Debi]

2. what about all the raging heterosexuals?

Seems to me a vow of celibacy is just that, no matter what your sexual orientation.

Pedophilia and homosexuality have nothing to do with each other.

How many Catholics saw this one coming when Ratz became the Pope? Wonder what his next act of 'cleansing' will be?

[Liberaler]

3. Another example of how dangerous

religion is and what a threat it is to this world. Disgusting catholics!