Unmasked, this is Benedict's effort to rid the American church of pedophile leadership. It shows the usual ignorance about these issues, but its side effects are chilling. The American church will shrink, becoming a relic. The priests ( synonym for gay priests) who are safely "grandfathered" by this witch hunt will reach a new level of disgust with their church and a heightened feeling of shame among their gay friends. This is what it must have felt like to live in Germany in the 1940's. The progressive clarification of where you stood, and the step-by-step clarification about what group could claim you as a member, would finally force you to choose one thing or another. No more ambiguity, no more toleration for a double standard, no more no-asking-no-telling. Either you wear the armband or not. There are consequences to this kind of clarification.
On the brighter side, most of my gay priest friends won't feel any of this anxiety. They won't be reading this article, won't know what's going on in the seminaries and won't hear about the ban on gay priests until next they visit us. They are too busy assembling new gear for the next Folsom Street.
2 comments:
Germany in the 1940's????? um, as far as i recall, being in the catholic church is VOLUNTARY - and if you get kicked out, you don't get killed. .........and as far as the guys who are gay and currently priests, um, "new level of disgust" with the church, or themselves??? I don't think the church has changed much in the 40 years since i was a kid - BUT the opportunity for these men to lead decent lives OUTSIDE of the church has, and i have no pity for them, or the this awful instititution that they belong to - just like any club, you don't like it - go form your own club!
Of course the church will never actually address the uh, root of these problems. As usual, they're looking at the various symptoms and chopping off limbs but not treating the disease at all.
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