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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050930/ap_on_re_us/gay_priests
Jesuit Official Rips Expected Ban on Gays By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer
Fri Sep 30, 5:14 PM ET
NEW YORK - A top Jesuit official is raising objections about an upcoming Vatican document that's expected to reinforce Roman Catholic teaching that gays are not welcome in the priesthood, while some U.S. leaders of men's religious orders are considering a trip to Rome to express their opposition.
The Rev. Gerald Chojnacki, head of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, said in a letter to his priests that he was asking bishops to tell Vatican officials who are drafting the policy "of the great harm this will cause many good priests and the Catholic faithful."
Chojnacki wrote in the letter, dated Monday, that he had participated in the funerals of several gay Jesuit clergy over the last few years.
"I find it insulting to demean their memory and their years of service by even hinting that they were unfit for priesthood because of their sexual orientation," he wrote.
Chojnacki said he would be working with the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, which represents leaders of religious orders in the United States including the Jesuits, Franciscans and others, and with bishops to fight "for the opportunity of a gay person to say yes to God's call in celibate service of priesthood and chaste religious life."
A priest who supports the protest provided the letter to The Associated Press. A spokesman for the New York province did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
The New York Times reported Friday that the Rome trip was mentioned in an internal memo to leaders of religious orders sent this week by the Conference of Major Superiors. The Rev. Paul Lininger, executive director of the conference, confirmed to The Associated Press that a memo was sent, but would not discuss its contents and said no trip was imminent.
The Rev. Alfred Naucke, of the California Jesuit Province, said he saw the memo and it stated that the idea of going to Rome was "under consideration" pending more information on what the Vatican document will say. Naucke said a trip appeared "more likely than not."
A Vatican official said last week that the upcoming "instruction" from the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education will reaffirm the church's belief that homosexuals should not be ordained.
In recent decades, Vatican officials have stated several times that gays should not become priests because their sexual orientation is "intrinsically disordered" and makes them unsuitable for ministry. A Vatican-directed evaluation of all 229 U.S. seminaries is underway, and is looking for "evidence of homosexuality" in the schools among other issues, such as whether their instruction keeps with church teaching.
The evaluation was organized in response to the clergy sex abuse crisis that has plagued the church since 2002.
Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, who is coordinating the seminary visits, said in a statement Friday that homosexuality was a concern in the evaluation because "it is one of the issues of our times."
"Within this cultural environment, there can develop, even among men preparing for the priesthood, an ambiguity both about the Church's teaching with regard to homosexuality and even whether some homosexual activity could be compatible with celibacy," said O'Brien, who leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services in Washington.
O'Brien had previously said gays should not be ordained, but stressed Friday that he said he was expressing his own views, not those of the Vatican.
Religious orders are the most independent bodies in the church, with their own governance and election of leaders, although Vatican officials sometimes intervene to impose discipline.
David Gibson, a former Vatican radio newsman and author of "The Coming Catholic Church," said the gay issue is especially important to the religious orders because the number of homosexual priests is believed to be higher in these communities than in the rest of the Church.
About one-third of the 42,500 U.S. priests are members of religious orders. Estimates of the numbers of gays in the entire priesthood vary from around 25 percent to 50 percent, according to a review of research on the issue by the Rev. Donald Cozzens, author of "The Changing Face of the Priesthood."
"The reason you're seeing this happen is because this is the time before the document comes out that people can make their case," Gibson said. "These orders know that after the document comes out they'll be accused of dissent."
Nuc said:There may be fantastic gay priests.
rtwngAvngr said:And don't forget fabulous!
Hobbit said:You know, I just don't get it. The Bible is quite explicit in forbiddance of homosexuality. There's really no wiggle room. I mean, there's wiggle room with several other issues, like abortion and war, but there's really no wiggle room in the Bible with homosexuality. It's like a guy walking into a police station and saying, "I want to be a police officer at this precinct, but I can't work after dark, because that's when I make a living breaking into rich people's houses."
MissileMan said:And if it is someone who knows he's homosexual, believes it is a sin, wants to refrain from sinning, wants to devote his life to a celibate existence in service to the Catholic Church, what's the problem?
Hobbit said:Well see, it is the opinion of the majority of the Christian religion that homosexuality is a choice. If a person feels those urges, but chooses to ignore them, then he has made the choice to not be a homosexual.
MissileMan said:If that's the case, since priesthood carries with it the vow of celibacy, what is the purpose of the ban on homosexuals since according to you, a celibate priest would be neither hetero- or homosexual?
Hobbit said:The main problem is that they don't see anything wrong with it.
MissileMan said:We're talking about the homosexuals who believe that it's wrong and want to avoid the sin by taking a vow of celibacy.
Hobbit said:I think you're missing the point. If a priest says he is gay but doesn't commit the sin of homosexual acts, then he's directly contradicting Catholic doctrine by claiming that it is an involuntary condition rather than a choice. If you subscribe to Catholic doctrine, then you're not gay unless you choose to be. A priest claiming to be gay is gay because he's choosing to be gay, and making that choice contradicts Catholic law. I know everybody on the left thinks being gay is like being black or tall, but according to Catholic doctrine, and most other Christian doctrines, being gay is a choice, and a sinful one, at that.
Hobbit said:I think you're missing the point. If a priest says he is gay but doesn't commit the sin of homosexual acts, then he's directly contradicting Catholic doctrine by claiming that it is an involuntary condition rather than a choice. If you subscribe to Catholic doctrine, then you're not gay unless you choose to be. A priest claiming to be gay is gay because he's choosing to be gay, and making that choice contradicts Catholic law. I know everybody on the left thinks being gay is like being black or tall, but according to Catholic doctrine, and most other Christian doctrines, being gay is a choice, and a sinful one, at that.
MissileMan said:Which is it? Is a person gay because they think they are, or because they have had gay sex? Pick one, cause the flip-flopping reminds me of Kerry and that asshole really annoyed me.
Nuc said:There may be fantastic gay priests. Nevertheless Christianity is against homosexuality. Simply put gays should not belong to the Catholic Church. Jews should not be Nazis. Blacks should not be in the KKK. Amputees should not be on a track team. Deaf people should not be in the orchestra. People should not belong to organizations that don't want them or are against them.
Hobbit said:You know, I just don't get it. The Bible is quite explicit in forbiddance of homosexuality. There's really no wiggle room. I mean, there's wiggle room with several other issues, like abortion and war, but there's really no wiggle room in the Bible with homosexuality. It's like a guy walking into a police station and saying, "I want to be a police officer at this precinct, but I can't work after dark, because that's when I make a living breaking into rich people's houses."
Hobbit said:Well see, it is the opinion of the majority of the Christian religion that homosexuality is a choice. If a person feels those urges, but chooses to ignore them, then he has made the choice to not be a homosexual.
Nuc said:Yes. If their sexual orientation is homosexual but they don't practice it, then how is it a choice? Or even how can they be considered homosexual?
