Los Angeles Archbishop Suspends Faculties of Pro-Homosexual Priest

A priest who helped found a gay ‘marriage’ advocacy group for Catholics has been suspended from distributing the sacraments or representing himself publicly as a cleric by his bishop.

The National Catholic Register reported Monday that Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles had spoken to Rev. Joseph Palacios, co-founder of Catholics for Equality, a small group created two years ago with strong connections to the Human Rights Campaign.

Palacios described the purpose of his outreach at Princeton University in February 2011, where he called the Church’s faithful the key target for effecting cultural shift in favor of homosexuality.

“The denominations are already lined up. The only group that isn’t lined up is the Catholics,” said Palacios, who was wearing a Roman collar. In Maine and California, where efforts at marriage redefinition failed, he said, “it was 3-5% of Catholics that could have been moved. If there had been a campaign to shift the Catholic movable middle, we would have won.”

He also noted that efforts would be made to recast marriage for homosexuals as a “pro-life” issue to reach young Catholics under the Jesuit value of cura personalis: “If we want to win Catholics over, … pro-life means pro-gay, meaning pro your child, pro your family.”

Another priest who was openly gay, Tony Adams, was quietly removed from the Equality founding board that year after his remarks calling Pope Benedict XVI a “childish idiot” and closeted homosexual were revealed.

Palacios told the National Catholic Register that he and his bishop “mutually agreed” that the priest would not minister publicly while promoting a redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples. “We agreed that I would stay on inactive status as long as I am politically active,” he said.

It is a huge step that he cannot be involved in the sacraments or publicly state he is a priest.

Being de-frocked means he is no longer a priest.

In a sense, a person ex-communicates themselves when they take a position where they agree with serious sin such as "abortion is okay"; "sodomy is not a sin"; "murder is not a sin". Basically, the person is in a state of serious sin and cannot receive the sacrament of communion.

In the case of former-Congressman Patrick Kennedy, when he took the stance that abortion was okay (and he was still a congressman), there were private meetings with his bishop.

His bishop tried to get Kennedy to see that he was in a state of serious sin. Instead of heading the bishop's warning, Kennedy made the issue public. This resulted in Kennedy not seeking another term as Congressman of Rhode Island.

If Patrick Kennedy did not repent, then to this day he is still in the state of serious sin, and ex-communicated from the Church.

Being de-frocked(sic) means he is no longer a priest.

"de-frocked" is a secular term not found in Canon law. The proper Canonical term is dismissal

CHAPTER IV : LOSS OF THE CLERICAL STATE

Can. 290 Sacred ordination once validly received never becomes invalid. A cleric, however, loses the clerical state:

1° by a judgement of a court or an administrative decree, declaring the ordination invalid;

2° by the penalty of dismissal lawfully imposed;

3° by a rescript of the Apostolic See; this rescript, however, is granted to deacons only for grave reasons and to priests only for the gravest of reasons.

Can. 291 Apart from the cases mentioned in can. 290, n. 1, the loss of the clerical state does not carry with it a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, which is granted solely by the Roman Pontiff.

Can. 292 A cleric who loses the clerical state in accordance with the law, loses thereby the rights that are proper to the clerical state and is no longer bound by any obligations of the clerical state, without prejudice to can. 291. He is prohibited from exercising the power of order, without prejudice to can. 976. He is automatically deprived of all offices and roles and of any delegated power.

Can. 293 A cleric who has lost the clerical state cannot be enrolled as a cleric again save by rescript of the Apostolic See.

Can. 976 Any priest, even though he lacks the faculty to hear confessions, can validly and lawfully absolve any penitents who are in danger of death, from any censures and sins, even if an approved priest is present.

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