Priests’ group to support gay clergy, decry ‘open gay bashing’
Catholic Online
Catholic Online – A group of Roman Catholic priests, who object to the forthcoming release of a Vatican document on gays in seminaries, have joined together to start an organization founded to support gay clergy and religious.
Catholics Affirming Homosexual Leadership note on their Web site (www.cahl.us) that they are “a group of ordained Catholic priests, both diocesan and religious, who have come together to affirm the value of our gay/lesbian clergy and religious in the face of apparent bigotry and growing intolerance.”
Noting that press accounts of “a rumoured Vatican statement regarding gay clergy and seminarians have been a cause of confusion and pain for faithful people in the Catholic Church,” the group seeks “a dialogue between church leadership and gay/lesbian ordained and professed clergy and religious for the purpose of mutual understanding and respect and the furtherance of ministry to all members of the church.”
Affirming the service of “the countless gay religious men and women, deacons, priests and bishops who have ministered in the church throughout the ages,” the group calls “ugly and inappropriate” what they see as “the scapegoating of homosexuals and the open gay-bashing by religious leaders.”
“Sexual abuse and its cover-up” is not the result of gay clergy, the site says, but rather “a moral and systemic failure irrespective of sexual orientation.”
From Nov. 3 through Nov. 19, some 125 entries were listed in the site’s “guestbook.”
No address nor any contact information about the organization is listed on the site. However, the web site Sponsoring Registrar is Tucows Inc. (www.tucows.com) and the Registrant Name is Jon Stickney from St. Joseph, Mich. His registered email address is jdstickney@ameritech.net.
A long-awaited Vatican document said the church cannot ordain as priests those who are active homosexuals, who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies or who support the "gay culture," an Italian newspaper reported.
The newspaper, Il Giornale, reported what it said were key excerpts from the eight-page document in its Nov. 9 edition. Vatican officials refused to comment on the accuracy of the newspaper report.
The document, which was expected to be formally released in late November, was approved by Pope Benedict XVI Aug. 31, the newspaper said.
The document said the church should welcome homosexuals with respect and sensitivity and avoid discrimination.
But, the newspaper said, the document added that "the church, while deeply respecting these persons, cannot admit to the priesthood those who practice homosexuality, who present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or who support the so-called gay culture."
For a priest, homosexuality represents "a situation that impedes the building of correct relationships with men and women," it said.
(Catholic News Service contributed to this report)
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=17690
Catholic Online
Catholic Online – A group of Roman Catholic priests, who object to the forthcoming release of a Vatican document on gays in seminaries, have joined together to start an organization founded to support gay clergy and religious.
Catholics Affirming Homosexual Leadership note on their Web site (www.cahl.us) that they are “a group of ordained Catholic priests, both diocesan and religious, who have come together to affirm the value of our gay/lesbian clergy and religious in the face of apparent bigotry and growing intolerance.”
Noting that press accounts of “a rumoured Vatican statement regarding gay clergy and seminarians have been a cause of confusion and pain for faithful people in the Catholic Church,” the group seeks “a dialogue between church leadership and gay/lesbian ordained and professed clergy and religious for the purpose of mutual understanding and respect and the furtherance of ministry to all members of the church.”
Affirming the service of “the countless gay religious men and women, deacons, priests and bishops who have ministered in the church throughout the ages,” the group calls “ugly and inappropriate” what they see as “the scapegoating of homosexuals and the open gay-bashing by religious leaders.”
“Sexual abuse and its cover-up” is not the result of gay clergy, the site says, but rather “a moral and systemic failure irrespective of sexual orientation.”
From Nov. 3 through Nov. 19, some 125 entries were listed in the site’s “guestbook.”
No address nor any contact information about the organization is listed on the site. However, the web site Sponsoring Registrar is Tucows Inc. (www.tucows.com) and the Registrant Name is Jon Stickney from St. Joseph, Mich. His registered email address is jdstickney@ameritech.net.
A long-awaited Vatican document said the church cannot ordain as priests those who are active homosexuals, who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies or who support the "gay culture," an Italian newspaper reported.
The newspaper, Il Giornale, reported what it said were key excerpts from the eight-page document in its Nov. 9 edition. Vatican officials refused to comment on the accuracy of the newspaper report.
The document, which was expected to be formally released in late November, was approved by Pope Benedict XVI Aug. 31, the newspaper said.
The document said the church should welcome homosexuals with respect and sensitivity and avoid discrimination.
But, the newspaper said, the document added that "the church, while deeply respecting these persons, cannot admit to the priesthood those who practice homosexuality, who present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or who support the so-called gay culture."
For a priest, homosexuality represents "a situation that impedes the building of correct relationships with men and women," it said.
(Catholic News Service contributed to this report)
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=17690
