[Bavarian]

Originally Posted by duffysmom

Somehow I doubt this but if true, how sad.

They convert the entire Parish, their "priests" are ordained priests. They keep their own liturgy but are under the Pope, just like the Eastern Catholic Churches are.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Portia

You go Jane..people need to realize that straight persons can also be pedophiles example " JERRY SANDUSKY NEED I say more....such a uprite citizen

I really do not want to hurt anyone's feeling here... but a gay priest attracted to boys is a gay priest attracted to boys and is a pedophile. A straight priest attracted to little girls is also a pedophile. In either case they are suffering from a mental disorder. In either case these guys should have been excommunicated, defrock and sent to jail. Jerry Sandusky is probably bi-sexual and that also is a mental disorder in my view. I say in my view because of political backing the DSM removed homosexuality from it list of mental disorders in 1983, yet people describe as obese are now included as having a mental disorder . Review the listing in the DSM of mental disorders and compare them to homosexuality and tell me it wasn't a political move.

Personally I do not care what people do in their private lives as long as they keep it private and they do not harm anyone. Priests not only harmed kids they did great damage to the catholic church just as Sandusky did tp Penn State and pedophile teachers do to schools,


Personal Best Regards:

[Patty55]

When I heard the Pope's statement I thought he was speaking of Gays, not Gay priests. If he was speaking of Gay priests what difference would that make? Wouldn't the Gay priest and the straight priest both have taken the same vow of celibacy? Why is it assumed that the Gay man is incapable of being celibate?

How does being a pedophile tie into this? I'm just not getting this.

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by rubicon

I really do not want to hurt anyone's feeling here... but a gay priest attracted to boys is a gay priest attracted to boys and is a pedophile. A straight priest attracted to little girls is also a pedophile. In either case they are suffering from a mental disorder. In either case these guys should have been excommunicated, defrock and sent to jail. Jerry Sandusky is probably bi-sexual and that also is a mental disorder in my view. I say in my view because of political backing the DSM removed homosexuality from it list of mental disorders in 1983, yet people describe as obese are now included as having a mental disorder . Review the listing in the DSM of mental disorders and compare them to homosexuality and tell me it wasn't a political move.

Personally I do not care what people do in their private lives as long as they keep it private and they do not harm anyone. Priests not only harmed kids they did great damage to the catholic church just as Sandusky did tp Penn State and pedophile teachers do to schools,


Personal Best Regards:

I respectfully disagree with a couple of your conclusions. A gay priest is not a pedophile until he ACTS on his tendencies. These actions are subject to judgement, but the person should not be discriminated against or condemned until he acts in an inappropriate way. Having spent years in Catholic seminary training, I know hundreds of priests. At least two of them are gay, but I don't think very many people know it. They are both held in the highest esteem by their congregations. To my knowledge, their careers are filled with many years of nothing but good works. If the Pope knew these men, they would be the kind of gay priests he referred to in his remarks.

We all have our 'tendencies'. To say that someone whose tendencies are not entirely directed toward a single sexual orientation has a mental illness is an unsupportable stretch. Again, if someone acts inappropriately, their conduct should be judged. It may also be later determined that some of those people are mentally ill. Most, I believe, are entirely free of mental illness and therefore subject to standard prosecution and sentencing penalties

[Golfingnut]

Originally Posted by Patty55

When I heard the Pope's statement I thought he was speaking of Gays, not Gay priests. If he was speaking of Gay priests what difference would that make? Wouldn't the Gay priest and the straight priest both have taken the same vow of celibacy? Why is it assumed that the Gay man is incapable of being celibate?

How does being a pedophile tie into this? I'm just not getting this.

Yes. Being gay does not make you bad. Being a straight hard working member of your local church that volunteers time and donates money to charity yet has a little sexual attraction to children is very bad and needs immediate help or Confinement.

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

Yes. Being gay does not make you bad. Being a straight hard working member of your local church that volunteers time and donates money to charity yet has a little sexual attraction to children is very bad and needs immediate help or Confinement.

Being a pedophile has nothing to do with the church, having a "little attraction" to children is not just very bad, it is a crime if and when you act upon it. Having an attraction to children and acting upon it is a criminal act whether you are a street sweeper, mailman, the guy down the street or most commonly, the mothers boyfriend. You all know that there are women pedaphiles, don't you? The irony is that teenage boys usually don't complain.

[eweissenbach]

There is much to admire about "capital C" Catholicism, except for the concept of infallibility of the Pope, not to mention the politics of the priesthood. The military type chain of command is largely what has created the pedophilia problem among priests by covering up their indiscretions and moving them away from the parishes where the acts occurred and moving them to another parish, often to repeat the same behavior. The Pope is just a man who has served his church well, and earned the respect of his peers sufficiently to be elected to his exalted position. I could never be a part of a religion, or any group, that was expected, or required, to treat the leader as though he or she were infallible. It sounds as though he is trying to create a more inclusive environment in the church, but we will see how it plays out.

[gomoho]

Okay - maybe I'm being stupid again. In my mind being "gay" is all about attraction and sexual orientation. Doesn't affect your job or how you clean your house or how you pay your bills. The difference between someone straight and someone gay is a sexual orientation - period. Sooooo if a priest vows celibacy - how does that equate to a sexual orientation??? Does that mean they are attracted to men, but don't act on it just as a straight priest might be attracted to women, but don't act on it?

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by gomoho

Okay - maybe I'm being stupid again. In my mind being "gay" is all about attraction and sexual orientation. Doesn't affect your job or how you clean your house or how you pay your bills. The difference between someone straight and someone gay is a sexual orientation - period. Sooooo if a priest vows celibacy - how does that equate to a sexual orientation??? Does that mean they are attracted to men, but don't act on it just as a straight priest might be attracted to women, but don't act on it?

Yep, that's how I see it. The same way a straight man can be celibate so can a Gay man. Just because they're Gay doesn't mean they have to act on it.

[graciegirl]

I have said this before and I will say it again. Talking about religion, that my dear grandmother warned me against...talking about it ...often causes very hurt feelings.

Like many things that affect us, it isn't completely rational, but often needed.

Maybe it is "pie in the sky" and maybe those we loved will be waiting, but it is a very personal thing and a very, very sensitive subject to most.

If I get to heaven and it is the real deal, I promise I'll save a place over in The Village section for y'all.

[senior citizen]

.............

[senior citizen]

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[ivanhoe]

Keep gay priests in nunneries...problem solved!

[senior citizen]

.............

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

There is much to admire about "capital C" Catholicism, except for the concept of infallibility of the Pope, not to mention the politics of the priesthood. The military type chain of command is largely what has created the pedophilia problem among priests by covering up their indiscretions and moving them away from the parishes where the acts occurred and moving them to another parish, often to repeat the same behavior. The Pope is just a man who has served his church well, and earned the respect of his peers sufficiently to be elected to his exalted position. I could never be a part of a religion, or any group, that was expected, or required, to treat the leader as though he or she were infallible. It sounds as though he is trying to create a more inclusive environment in the church, but we will see how it plays out.

Ed, you are spot on. Too many Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals covered up for pedophile priests and passed them around from parish to parish, and this went on for decades in some cases. Some of the church hierarchy should have served jail time for this. And the parishioners in the pews in some dioceses will be paying for this for a long time. Dioceses in Portland, Milwaukee, San Diego, Tucson, Davenport, IA, Spokane, WA, Wilmington, DE and Fairbanks, AK have filed for bankruptcy protection because of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

I am not a priest basher or a Catholic Church basher. There were and are many good Catholic priests who have served and are still serving their parishioners. Most of my extended family is still Catholic. I could have joined the Catholic group, Call to Action, which is trying to bring the Catholic Church into the 21st Century, but most of the changes they are working for probably will not happen in my lifetime, so I voted with my feet and joined the Episcopal Church. Just my 2 cents.