Posted on 05/01/2005 11:57:54 AM PDT by Antoninus
I recently ran across the following passage which is taken from the Chronicle of John Malalas:
"In that year [A.D. 528] some of the bishops from various provinces were accused of living immorally in matters of the flesh and of homosexual practices. Amongst them was Isaiah, bishop of Rhodes, an ex-praefectus vigilum at Constantinople, and likewise the bishop from Diospolis in Thrace, named Alexander. In accordance with a sacred ordinance they were brought to Constantinople and were examined and condemned by Victor, the city prefect, who punished them: he tortured Isaiah severely and exiled him and he amputated Alexander's genitals and paraded him around on a litter. The emperor [Justinian] immediately decreed that those detected in pederasty should have their genitals amputated. At that time, many homosexuals were arrested and died after having their genitals amputated. From then on there was fear amongst those afflicted with homosexual lust."
Taken from:
Jeffreys, Elizabeth, Michael Jeffreys, and Roger Scott, trans. (1986) The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation. Australian Association for Byzantine Studies: Melbourne, p. 253.
Malalas was an Antiochene historian who wrote toward the end of the 6th century A.D. Though one of the major primary sources for the epic reign of the emperor Justinian the Great, Malalas has been rather neglected by scholars.
Ping.
pong
I don't see a problem with such a punishment for those crimes.
Notice that the chronicler seems to see no great difference between homosexuality and pederasty. He uses them practically as synonyms. In those days, men attracted to members of the same sex usually went after adolescents, forming hierarchical man-boy affairs that tried to parallel man-woman relationships. The notion that homosexuality primarily involves forming egalitarian relationships between adult men is relatively recent.
Justinian must have intuited what AIDS treatment would cost.
"If it causes you to sin cut if off." ?
bottom line is; you're right. This is not about the horror of mutilation of the physical body (of the perpetrator...), but about how to focus on and protect the rights of the victim, prospective or otherwise.
IOW, I agree with you. Much as the thought of taking such drastic measures against someone disturbs me - as it should any decent person... 100 times more powerful is my feeling of disgust for someone who would stoop to abusing the innocents among us. Simply Do. Not. Care. for Whatever!! the reason or explanation for such abominable behaviour is.
Cut the offending member off, I say... better for a thief to lose his hand and repent, then to lose his soul (substitute maniple for relevant appendage as applicable...).
Must have consulted the Oracle....;^)
Looks like the Church had a no-nonsense policy on sex abuse: "Use 'em and lose 'em."
Harsh, but it obviously worked. These days, child molesting clergy should be defrocked publicly, then thrown into the general population of the local prison.
Precisely. Thats why, until the past 100 years or so, sodomy laws were either concerned with all non-procreative sex, or with forced sex.
The idea of consensual homosexuality is a very recent cultural evolution.
Dear friends,
This is my first post on Free Republic and I would like to thank all of you for standing up for what is right and not what is easy. I am a 20 year old sophomore at the University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan. I am taking Catholic theology and philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in order to become a priest. The ministry office at the University of Detroit Mercy has started, staffed and promoted a Gay Lesbian Transsexual Alliance at the University in open counter diction to the teachings of the Jesus Christ passed on through his disciples. Thank you for your support in the fight against this evil. Be not afraid! The youth are drawn to your message, to truth! Keep on fighting this evil that has infected our society in general and “Catholic” universities in particular, because it is the fight for the very souls of the youth! Never give up the hope that your support can make the world a better place one student at a time. I have hope that I can help build a world not of porno pimps and drug dealers, but of families and justice and the true peace that comes from God. As Pope J. P. the duce said, "Be not afraid!" God bless you all.
Yours truly,
Andrew P. Mansour
Website: scubandym.nexuswebs.net
A BIG WELCOME to FreeRepublic Andrew! Keep the faith.
Really, though, it was easier to handle back then because everyone thought of it as diseased. That's not true anymore.
Currently, an NCR piece written to disuade people from taking Fr. Malachi Martin seriously, as it relates to possession and exorcisms is written by a priest who wrote a book about the spirituality of homosexual love, if the title is any indication. He's a priest in good standing, I'm assuming.
How the Church successfully extirpates the homosexual strain from the midst of Her seminaries is anybody's guess. It really is entrenched, from what I can see, and works very well, hand in hand, with that cancerous strain of laity and lower clergy who want to overhaul the 'eternal truths.' They say if they are eternal, why not test them? If they bounce back they were eternal, if they don't they weren't.
That cancerous strain does the most harm because they exercise a lot of control at the parish level. A thousand half-hearted Catholics can't do near the damage of 10 of those people. They are a scourge and a punishment.
Best wishes with doing your life's work. Blessings to you!
Very true. The Greeks saw it almost exclusively as a thing between older men and younger boys. The one playing the "female role" was always seen as the inferior.
Welcome, Andy!!!
Dear friends,
Actually Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a witness to the fact that Seminaries can and have been reclaimed for Christ. There have been over 16 new appointments to the faculty in the last 3 years. I am taking classes there because it used to be a haven for homosexual advocates, but now is not. Check out its website: http://www.aodonline.org/SHMS/SHMS.htm
I am very proud to take classes there. It turned around because Pope John Paul the Great appointed Cardinal Maida who said no way in hell is that going on at my Seminary and did something about it. Be not afraid. Have hope!
Yours truly,
Andrew P. Mansour
Website: scubandym.nexuswebs.net
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