Free Republic

31 December, 2003If you're not a "nice guy"... by Jeffrey JacksonSearching for one’s vocation in life is a most daunting task. This is especially true given that society today is not only apathetic, but perhaps hostile, to the meaning of the word "vocation." It is no longer within the standard definition of the term "success" to have found a vocation. Oftentimes, a man of faith searching for his vocation, perhaps with lack of encouragement from his family and certainly no help from society, will turn to his diocesan vocation office for much needed wisdom and guidance on these critical matters....

The Gay Priest Problem Is there an epidemic of homosexuality in the priesthood? Recent media reports of an “epidemic” of AIDS among priests causes an examination of the problems in the Church that have led to the current situation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rev. Paul Shaughnessy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AIDS has quietly caused the deaths of hundreds of Roman Catholic priests in the United States, although other causes may be listed on some of their death certificates, the Kansas City Star reported today. The newspaper said its examination of death certificates and interviews with experts indicates several hundred priests have died of AIDS-related illnesses...

A FEW MONTHS AGO the Jesuit-run America magazine ran a smartly-designed full-page ad headlined with a pithy statement in large bold typeface: "Small is Good." The ad was for the American College of Louvain (ACL), the seminary in Belgium run directly by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the oldest national seminary for Americans, founded in 1857. "When it comes to business, bigger is usually better," the ad states. "When it comes to Church, does the same principle apply?" Heavens no, the ad claims, and ACL happens to be living proof-or so it claims: "For almost ten years, our...

<p>As a student at Harvard and then Yale, where different lifestyles mix uneventfully, Gavan Meehan found it easy and comfortable to be publicly gay. But after an inner tug to the priesthood drew him last year to St. John's Seminary in Brighton, his upfront acknowledgement of his sexual orientation brought a far different response.</p>

Although he did not directly refer to homosexuality, the Pope clearly implied it, along with other sexual aberrations, as something that should not be present in those accepted into seminaries. The Church teaches that homosexuality is an "intrinsically disordered" condition. Different news services have given slightly different translations of the Pope's words in his speech which is not yet available in English on the Vatican web site. Zenit News reported that "John Paul II pointedly instructed bishops to be extremely careful in their selection of candidates for the priesthood, in order to avoid a repetition of the scandals linked to...

Congregation for Catholic Education (For Seminaries and Educational Institutions) The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium Introduction 1. On the threshold of the third millennium education faces new challenges which are the result of a new socio-political and cultural context. First and foremost, we have a crisis of values which, in highly developed societies in particular, assumes the form, often exalted by the media, of subjectivism, moral relativism and nihilism. The extreme pluralism pervading contemporary society leads to behaviour patterns which are at times so opposed to one another as to undermine any idea of community identity....

'What Is Going On in the U.S.?'Seminarians have shocking answers to the Pope's questionScandal in the Church: Part ThreeNational Catholic Register April 21-27, 2002by JOHN BURGER Register Staff Writer WASHINGTON - When U.S. bishops had a working lunch with Pope John Paul II on April 9, they were surprised that upon entering the room, the Holy Father, not waiting for formal introductions, got right to the point: "Tell me what is going on in the United States." The Holy Father plans a meeting with all U.S. cardinals April 22-25 in Rome to discuss just that.The Register, in a series of...

This book is going to rattle a few cages I'll reckon. As described on the web site: "In this explosive new book, investigative reporter Michael S. Rose reveals how deliberate discrimination against traditional, or "orthodox," men has been effected by well placed ideologues who want to change the Catholic Church in America to suit their personal tastes and politics." The following snippets are taken from the 'feedback' page of the Good Bye! Good Men web site. They are currently soliciting even more responses. ----------------------------------- I couldn't believe what I experienced in seminary Submitted by Daniel W. Krueger, Ph.D., 8 April...