The mystery of iniquity at work, Alex. The mystery of iniquity............
Since the time of Judas, the Church has always harbored in her bosom, betrayers, apostates, heretics, fornicators and sundry other malefactors.
That's probably not the answer you were looking for, though. Here's another. When Weakland got the job in '77 he was likely a little more discreet. He says he never acted on his sexual impulses until he became a bishop. That combined with the likely probability that he's been favored/protected by other like-minded members of the the Church hierarchy. It's not called "the lavender mafia" for nothing.
I'm actually not concerned here about whether his "sexual impulses" were acted upon or even known prior to his ascendency to the position of Archbishop. Rather, I'm questioning his "denial of key points of Catholic teaching." When did that begin? Why didn't the interview process catch it? I'm assuming that his denial preceded his "impulses" here.
Some time ago, IIRC I posting a thread with an interview of a priest who was part of your "lavender mafia." When asked how his group could justify their actions given their vows, his response was something like "we decided that it wasn't a sin." If I can find the thread, I will post a link.
“the Church has always harbored in her bosom betrayers”
That’s what really hurts. As a friend of Jesus (though certainly no saint) it really bothers me to see people be so disloyal to Him. I think maybe Weakland loved the job of being a clergy member, loved being thought of as important, intelligent and good. I think he did not actually love the One that he was ostensibly serving. I know he thinks he is smarter than the (backward, narrow-minded) Church.
Loyalty and humility are the unsung virtues of our time. We need to pray for our leaders and/or become faithful and humble leaders ourselves.