Posted on 03/16/2002 7:48:41 AM PST by marshmallow
He'd just completed a funeral Mass at the bustling parish over which he presides, and now, moments later, removing his collar, that pastoral demeanor quickly vanished, giving way to a bristling anger he made no effort to conceal.
The priesthood hadn't been his first vocational choice, but it continued tugging at his heart in the corporate world until he finally yielded, entering seminary a few years older than most of his colleagues.
To look at him today, well-established in his calling, riding a wave of personal popularity, few would guess how close he came to missing it all, to almost throwing in the towel prior to his ordination.
``Thanks for returning my call,'' he said. ``I have a take on what's happening now, something no one else seems anxious to get into, including the people in your business whom I'm angry at, too.
``The papers keep talking about pedophilia. That's the wrong word. The real issue here is homosexuality. It's usually heterosexuals who are pedophiles, which is a psychological disorder that has something to do with arrested development, sending them back to an age where they last felt comfortable, identifying with someone who reminds them of themselves.''
``Where are you getting this from?'' he was asked.
``From friends who are psychologists. John Geoghan? Sure, he was a pedophile. But of all the guys whose names we're reading now, no more than a couple were pedophiles, a percentage probably consistent with the general population.
``The majority of these victims were not prepubescent; they were young teens, so it had nothing to do with pedophilia. It's technically called ephebophilia, which is almost exclusively homosexual, and it isn't about comfort; it's about sex.
``The media don't like talking about this because, by and large, they have come down on the side of gay rights, the advancement of the gay agenda, so there would be an uncomfortability because, again and again, gays are saying, `We're no threat to children; that's why we should be Boy Scout leaders, why we should be teachers, why we should be able to adopt.' That's always their justification for interactions with young people.''
``Father,'' he was assured, ``you'll be branded a hater.''
``I know, so please make sure I'm well-disguised, though if I said all of this in a homily I think people in this parish would be pretty cool with it.
``But Lake Street wouldn't be too happy. The problem is, there's a subculture of gay priests and everyone knows it. I went through seminary with a lot of them and got hit on. And when I reported it, I was harassed to a point where, emotionally, it was very difficult to get ordained. I'm not the only one who had to fight to get through it; I know guys who left because of it.
``It was clear there was a cabal tacitly saying, `Don't bother reporting this stuff.' You wouldn't believe the self-justifications, like, `Well, celibacy only applies to not getting married, so since we're not getting married we can do whatever we want.' It was horrible, with a lot of intimidation, but I stayed because I felt this was what God was calling me to do; besides, if I'd walked, they'd have won.''
``Why are you telling me all this?'' he was asked.
``Because somebody has to talk about the elephant in the middle of our room. But mostly because I'm angry, not just for myself, but for friends of mine who are feeling besmirched, too. Believe me, there are wonderful priests throughout this archdiocese, celibate, faithful, loving the Church and loving God's people.
``The Church is embarrassed by this, and also concerned that if too many are weeded out there'll be a crisis in our work force because we're due to lose 70 to 80 guys through retirement in the next few years.
``My personal feeling is, I don't care; we should stand up and be counted, reaffirming the authentic faith. If this element isn't rooted out, we're going to see reoccurrences. Vocations will come back; God will take care of that.''
Fearing recrimination, he was asked why he doesn't rally those colleagues he claims to represent, perhaps issuing a joint statement, since there's strength in numbers?
``That may happen,'' he replied. ``I'm touching base with many of them because we know what needs to be said. But right now I just don't know what to do.''
You got it. That's what the Human Rights Campaign is all about. They want the kids.
And people like this have gone to work on presidential political campaigns, and they had the ear of the President.
See what we're up against?
I'm not sure they are, but I think we agree that they ought to.
Thanks very much for the link, I appreciate further links on these topics.
It seems to me that the gays have been engaged for quite some time in what I would call an ecclesiastical "cow-tipping" exercise, trying to tip over one or more of the mainline churches on levitical teaching and pronounce, against exegesis, that "gay is okay -- but you're not, unless you're okay with it!"
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The elephant in the room is that homosexuals - especially male homosexuals - are prone to chickenhawking. We as a society have to make an explicit decision that this is a BAD THING. Adults are, and should be, free to make whatever decisions they choose. But this kind of relationship cannot be construed as healthy.
Sex before 8 - or it's too late! Craige McMillan on how media covers for homosexual child abusers
"... "Ho, hum," says the U.S. media. "Don't bother us. We're busy. We have these water buckets we're carrying for NAMBLA." Those initials stand for the North American Man Boy Love Association. Their long-standing motto, "sex before eight – or it's too late," only recently revised, makes their intent pretty clear.
Homosexuals, as represented in the U.S. media, come in only two varieties: upstanding citizen and persecuted victim.
Do homosexual priests rape choirboys? Not in medialand. There, Catholic priests abuse children – a phrase that's so gender-inclusive, and manages to twist one's attention onto the Catholic church, not the homosexual men who have made inroads into the clergy so they can prey on the innocence of children.
Do homosexual pastors rape congregants? Not in medialand. There "ministers are found with naked teens" and charged with "unlawful sex acts with a minor." Such inclusive language … my, isn't the media open-minded and progressive? We'd never guess it was male pastors and little boys, would we?
The media is too busy raping the Christian church on its news pages, the Boy Scouts during its evening news broadcasts, and the military in its editorials and at its cocktail parties. No, Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa don't warrant the truth, because it just might slow down the bucket brigade, and imply that homosexuals could possibly be, like the rest of us, just a smidgen short of sainthood..."
Why should some church try to stop two men from enjoying anal sex with each other? Why should said church try to keep out of its ranks, those who lust after other men?
The church should just shut up and pass out KY Jelly. This is the 2000's now. Next: pedophiles want their rights "expanded".
My facts on married priests in the Eastern Rite and converted Episcopalian married priests are not wrong. You obviously disagree that married priests in the Western Rite would be a good thing.
But in any case wouldn't it be adding stupidity to probable error to change horses in mid-stream? No less,a raging stream with a huge waterfall within earshot. By the time the horse is changed we'll all be over the dam.
If a billion dollars in settlements to victims of these priests is "over the dam" I don't know what is.
Most Catholics (American and otherwise) are far less uptight about married priests than some on Free Republic.
Many of them are proteges of the late Cardinal Bernardin.
I trust this may help to alleviate some of your apparent bewilderment which the thought of an active Catholic homosexual network appears to bring.
Are you on a dessert island somewhere?
If you've got something that backs this up, I'd like to see it.
nmh is a notorious Catholic-basher; I don't believe one thing he says about the Catholic Church.
This is a scurrilous article, and I'm surprised you buy this bullshit from RCF.
I know Mike Sheehan, personally, and have for the last twenty-five years; he's as upstanding a man and a bishop as I've ever known.
The title of "Bernardin boys" implies something about Sheehan, and anyone else mentioned in the article, that is never proven.
The RCF is not a reliable source for any kind of news about the Catholic Church. It has dedicated itself to destroying the reputations of certain Catholic clergy by innuendo.
You can do better than the RCF.
BTW what is the name of the church in Arlington? I travel there frequently. Would be nice to visit.
Regards
As I suspected, you want me to prove your contention for you.
So far, you and nmh have made accusations you haven't proven.
So, I'll take them for what they're worth.
What I don't buy is your ad hominem type of argument.
RCF were the people reponsible for "outing" the St. Sebastian's Angels group, through exposing their web site. You may have heard of it. RCF was right on the money. It was exactly what RCF said it was.
RCF was also responsible for exposing the extraordinary behavior of then Bishop Daniel Ryan in Springfield, Ill. They were meticulous in collecting sworn testimony from numerous witnesses and compiled an airtight case.
Their work is certainly unpalatable to many but is too thorough to be simply dismissed with barnyard epithets.
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