Get It Straight -- The hypocrisy of blaming gays for sexual abuse by priests.

Slate ^ | April 24, 2002 | William Saletan

[FormerLib]

If the church gets rid of gay priests, everything will be fine.

Well, it's a start.

And a fine one, at that!

[BJR]

I am missing something with this 'hypocrisy' post. What IS hypocritical is that, while preaching about the immorality of homosexual behaviour, the catholic church allowed itself to become a haven for ACTIVE homosexuals. As more of the story comes out, it will be known that the majority of US priests and seminarians are active homosexuals and that ALL priests were well aware of what went on all these years. Homosexuality may well turn out to be the cancer that destroyed the church from within.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

The Peter Principle strikes again.

[breakem]

Don't you get tired of being wrong? C-YA, Sherlock. Thanx for adding to our body of knowledge.

[RasterMaster]

Glad to see that you are leaving....Thus far, you have yet to counter any point. Were you dropped on your head as a child?

[FormerLib]

So should people with homosexual attraction have their brains removed?

Do you understand the difference between an involuntary impulse and a conscious thought?

Do you?

We choose what we think about, just as we choose all behaviors. That's what separates us from the rest of the animals.

Well, some of us, anyway.

[MacArthur]

I agree with you.

[Ol' Sparky]

Ninety percent of the children abused are boys. Chicken hawk homosexuals preying on young boys is part of the homosexual lifestyle. Homosexual priests are the problem. Heterosexual priests are not interested in young boys and very few girls have been molested within the Catholic.

[moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing]

Those who make excuses or wish to add "protection under the law" for deviants are just as guilty. So, you do nothing but help the deviants become "main-stream" by treating them as if they are like 'everyone else'.

I'm curious, what is your definition of "deviant"?

[RasterMaster]

Homosexuals and lesbians are deviants....pedifiles are deviants. Only brain-dead liberals can't seem to understand the similarities.

[VRWC_minion]

?then only about 8 percent of gay priests have committed sexual abuse. According to the Catholic League, that's the rate of pedophilia "in the general adult population."

Is it too much to expect a slightly lower rate of pedophilia amoung the clergy ? If 1 out of every 12 clergy abuse a child, we should accept this rate ?

[moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing]

I have a better idea... outlaw homosexuality!

I hope you're joking here. Are you really prepared to have the government tell consenting adults what they can or can't do in the privacy of their own bedroom?

I'm finding more and more republicans willing to make this kind of demand even while calling for smaller, less intrusive gov't. Doesn't anyone else see a contradiction here? Is it hypocritical?

[moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing]

Do you understand the difference between an involuntary impulse and a conscious thought?

Do you?

We choose what we think about, just as we choose all behaviors. That's what separates us from the rest of the animals.

Well, some of us, anyway.

Hmmm..... I'm curious..... did you CHOOSE to be attracted to the opposite sex? Was it a conscious choice or did it just happen? Personally, I am extremely attracted to women and not men, but I never made that choice. In fact, under what conditions could I "choose" to be attracted to men? I just don't see it.

[Hibernius Druid]

Northwest of Chicago in the town of Mundelein there's a large multi-diocesean major seminary under the purview, I believe, of Francis Cardinal George

Do any Freepers know whether that seminary is a sanctuary, so to speak, for gay seminarians and priests?

[VRWC_minion]

Doesn't anyone else see a contradiction here? Is it hypocritical?

As one who doesn't think homosexual behavior should be outlawed (although in many cases sodomy is against the law, please don't tell my wife what it means) there is no contradiction between the two. Its not hypocritical. Most conservatives want strong state level governments and are afraid of putting all the power in one central federal government.

This leaves the ability to maintain on one hand that federal government should be smaller and less intrusive while reserving the same to state and local government.

[VRWC_minion]

Personally, I am extremely attracted to women and not men, but I never made that choice

Do you have to act on every attraction ? I found Britany Spears to me sexually attractive but I would never chose to have sex with her.

[moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing]

Homosexuals and lesbians are deviants....pedifiles are deviants. Only brain-dead liberals can't seem to understand the similarities.

Hmm..... you didn't quite answer my question, and seemed to be getting hostile in response to my very polite and simple question. All you seem to be saying is that homosexuals are deviants and that deviants are homosexuals. That is circular logic. Do you have a definition of "deviant" that conveys some meaning? Or is it just an insult?

[moderation_is_not_a_bad_thing]

Do you have to act on every attraction ? I found Britany Spears to me sexually attractive but I would never chose to have sex with her.

Excellent point!! So, is a person homosexual if they are attracted to the same sex, or are they only homosexual if they act on it?

[Campion]

If you want to use profiling to weed out pedophiles, there's a far more effective way. One hundred percent of sexual abuse by priests is committed by men. So is nearly all sexual abuse of children. While it's hard to tell who's gay, it's easy to tell who's male. The ideal solution would be to ban men from the priesthood.

I stand in awe of this sort of piercing logic.

Let us go further. One hundred percent of sexual abuse by priests is committed by human beings. There is no record, ever, of an ordained houseplant committing any sort of sexual abuse. (In fact, there is no record of an ordained houseplant!) Hence, the ideal solution is to stop ordaining men, and start ordaining African violets.

As a side benefit, I'd imagine their sermons would be quite short.

[John O]

What percentage of gay priests have sexually abused children?

In my opinion, all of them who admit to being 'gay'

The bible says that homosexual behavior is a sin (and not just a sin but an abomination worthy of death). Therefore a priest who admits that he performs homosexual behavior or who supports homosexual behavior or causes is guilty of molesting every child who learns about his behavior. He's supposed to be a Godly role model, not a deviant recruiter.

God Save America (Please)