The Man Behind "The Gay Priest Problem": What Needs to Be Done, and Why It Won't Be

San Diego News Notes ^ | June 2003 | Allyson Smith

[EdReform]

Bump & Ping

[Polycarp]

The book review should be required reading, too.

Got a link? (I hope!)

[NathanR]

Ping

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

bump for later.

[ninenot]

I found it in the article (Weekly Standard link)

[Polycarp]

Found it:

An academic gloats, "The Society has not sold its soul to the 'Restoration' of John Paul II." Another Jesuit scholar, a church historian, ranks John Paul II as "probably the worst pope of all times"--adding, "He's not one of the worst popes; he's the worst. Don't misquote me." The respondents make it clear that their contempt for the pope is based almost entirely on his intransigence, his unwillingness to imitate their own adaptability in the matter of doctrine.

SO, IF THE SITUATION in the Society of Jesus is really as McDonough and Bianchi describe it in "Passionate Uncertainty," why doesn't the pope intervene and make radical changes? Two reasons suggest themselves. On the one hand, the attitude of Pope John Paul II towards religious congregations, female as well as male, is somewhat Darwinian. He is content to let the healthy groups prosper--Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity are a parade example--while letting the unhealthy ones die out of their own accord, like sick caribou amid the permafrost. On the other hand, recent popes have judged the political cost of intervening to reform failing congregations as excessive in view of the likely benefits to be gained. A close analogy can be drawn with the moles that surfaced in the British Secret Service in the 1950s. Their treachery was known long before action was taken against them; bit by bit they were denied access to sensitive material, simply so that they'd have less to betray. In the same way, and for the same reasons, the popes have declined a dramatic showdown with the new Jesuits, preferring instead, without calling attention to the fact, to give the really important business to more dependable agents.

Hmmmmmm.....

[ninenot]

Yeah.

Now you understand better the scope and depth of the problem, and why the latest estimate is $5BILLION in settlements.

The Jebs may die off--from AIDS

[Domestic Church]

"By the way, there is another molestation victim ..."

Prayers going up.

[Domestic Church]

"What happens if the Catholic church ever says "Gay is OK"?

"That will never happen."

"(If it did, Christ would immediately return, as apostacy would finally be upon His Church, not just in the hearts of a few of its sinful members.)"

Maria Esperanza says Our Lord is about to return:

http://www.spiritdaily.com/esperanzabook.htm

[Desdemona]

Hmmmm..... When the liberals say something is bad, it must be really good.

There is something to just not putting any life support into orders that just don't follow the teachings of the church. And showdown, at this point, would undo a lot of good this pope has done. He's right about that. Most of the liberal orders are dying out as it is.

[Kryptonite]

Thanks for the entertaining and informative post. I found the following to be most useful.

Use your Checkbook as a Carrot and Stick. Remember that when your pastoral associate flies to Rio during Mardi Gras you're footing the bill. Don't be silent partners in corruption. When a scandal involving a priest hits the papers, first, cut out the pertinent news article; second, write a check for $100 to the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's nuns); third, when you receive a request for donations from the outfit in which the scandal occurred, enclose the article in the return envelope along with a photocopy of your check to the MCs and a note to this effect: "My previous contributions were intended for the support of my pastors and the propagation of the faith. From now on you can pay for your own K-Y jelly and your own AZT. I will resume my donations when you have cleaned the stables." They'll get the message. Just as important, when a bishop or religious superior shows some spine by a gutsy dismissal or intervention, send him a note telling him what you think, and include a check as well.

[Windsong]

"...as apostacy would finally be upon His Church

Actually, not even Jesus knows when he will return. Only the Father knows. And "apostacy" has been in the church since the 1st century. We're simply more aware of it bc of the media.

Old news, when you look at the big picture of it all.

[John O]

Excellent article and thanks for posting it. Father Shaughnessy sounds like a great man of God

I have only one disagreement with it. The fundamentalists (and I are one) are not chasing Catholics. We are chasing anyone who doesn't know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior (the lost). Now some of the lost are pagan, some are atheist, some are agnostic, some attend protestant churches (baptist, presby, lutheran, pentecostal, etc) and some attend Catholic churches. Church membership or attendence does not get you into heaven. Only accepting Jesus as your Savior will do that.

[In the sake of fairness, if someone is properly raised Catholic and follows the teachings of the church they should come to a point where they will accept Jesus. Unfortunately some are not raised that way. I was one such. I was an altar boy and actively involved in the youth organizations etc, but on a personal level I had never met Jesus. It took me until I was 26 to even realize that only He could fill the empty place within me.]

[Clint N. Suhks]

Is there a connection between homosexuality and child molestation? No, I'm not going to say there's a connection between pedophilia and homosexuality per se.

• Gay advocates correctly state that most child molesters are heterosexual males. But this is a misleading statement. In proportion to their numbers (about 1 out of 36 men), homosexual males are more likely to engage in sex with minors: in fact, they appear to be three times more likely than straight men to engage in adult-child sexual relations Freund, K. and R. I. Watson, The Proportions of Heterosexual and Homo sexual Pedophiles Among Sex Offenders Against Children: An Exploratory Study, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 18 (Spring 1992): 3443.
• While no more than 2% of male adults are homosexual, some studies indicate that approximately 35% of pedophiles are homosexual. K. Freund et al., Pedophilia and Heterosexuality vs. Homosexuality, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 10 (Fall 1984): 197.
• Homosexual pedophiles victimize far more children than do heterosexual pedophiles Freund, K. and R. I. Watson, The Proportions of Heterosexual and Homosexual Pedophiles Among Sex Offenders Against Children: An Exploratory Study, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 18 (Spring 1992): 3443.
• It is estimated that approximately 80% of pedophilic victims are boys who have been molested by adult males Schmidt, Thomas (1995). Straight and Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate. Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, p. 114.
• Kurt Freund, et al., "Pedophilia and Heterosexuality vs. Homosexuality," Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 10 (1984): 197. "The proportional prevalence of offenders against male children in this group of 457 offenders against children was 36 percent." See also, Kurt Freund, et al., "Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, and Erotic Age Preference," "Approximately one-third of these individuals had victimized boys and two-thirds had victimized girls. This finding is consistent with the proportions reported in two earlier studies," p. 107.

However, most of these cases involve adolescent males. Now, it may not be classical pedophilia, but they are clearly minors, and they're all men.

There’s a big blurry line for what age pedophilia is and is not and where homosexuals offend. The AMA says it’s age 13 and the APA says age 12 are the limits to pedophilia. There’s really two kinds of pedophilia, one is age 8-9 and under, the most heinous and hostile kind of child offending, and the pre-pubescent, pubescent and post-pubescent ages (it is here where homosexuals primarily offend). So is the child who is abused at age 13 + (1 day) not pedophilia? 13 + (2 days)?

The homosexual link is clear and compelling at these ages of maturity regardless of chronological age, the pre-pubescent, pubescent and post-pubescent ages vary so greatly we are seeing maturity as early as ages 9 and up. This “age” group is where the average liberal media and government services don’t report or record the homosexual connection for the abuse and consequently the connection is overlooked and difficult to survey thus hiding the BIG LIE.

[theartfuldodger]

This explains why we have to fight the homosexual agenda:

What gets me is the glorification of homosexuality on TV, on family television. That hit me when I came back from Rome. There is a cultural war, and there is a difference between acceptance and approval. They want you to approve it.

This isn't just about what they do in their bedrooms.

Rom 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

[ThomasMore]

Bookmark Bump!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

A case in point concerns Fr. Thom Savage, S.J., who last year became the first president of an American university, religious or secular, to die of AIDS. Most of the faithful who learned of it winced at the shame that it should be a Catholic, and still more a priest, that earned this distinction.

Fr. Edward Kinerk, S.J., is a former superior of the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus and Savage's successor as president of Rockhurst College. This is how he chose to speak to the issue:

"As a Jesuit, I cannot feel anything but pride and gratitude for a meteor that burned itself out in the service of others," Kinerk said. "On May 10, 1999, God took the gift back. Thom is with God. As Jesuits, we rejoice. He has done what God sent him to do."

I had never heard of this story. How could Father Kinerk say a priest dying of aids is what God sent him to do?

[ex-snook]

"if someone is properly raised Catholic and follows the teachings of the church they should come to a point where they will accept Jesus."

With respect, Catholics call this 'receive Jesus' which we do at Communion. This is really Jesus why? because He said so "This is My Body". We become part of the body of Christ.