This doesn’t seem too surprising to me. The leaders of the Catholic Church are fairly anti-homosexual. The masses they’re preaching to are increasingly less so. The last thing those leaders want is to give pulpits to celibate gays who might not toe the Vatican line when it comes to condemning homosexuality.
I wish I could link to it (I can’t, it’s subscription only) but the Irish Times on Saturday had two brilliant opinion pieces. One, by Senator David Norris (our openly gay member of the Irish Senate) on his response as a gay man to the Church’s latest and another opinion piece, where a gay former priest and a gay priest who is not in active ministry gave their resposnses.
Basically, the gist is that the Church will accept alcoholism, addiction and paedophilia amongst it’s clergy, but not being gay (even if they are celibate).
I can’t believe this idea didn’t even cross my mind… :smack:
Yes. The Pope has said this very thing on more than one occasion. He has spoken of a “down-sizing” of the Church, and concentrating pastoral efforts to only those who are truly faithful to Church doctrine.
The day of the “cafeteria Catholic” is gone.
-Richard
!!!
Really?! Are you sure?!
I mean, that’s a 180-degree reversal of 20 centuries of Church policy! “Catholic” means “universal”!
Yes, BrainGlutton, but part of the idea now is that it be universally orthodox. It’s about a perceived need to do some “strenghtening the core” before resuming growth. Remember, the Church is drying up in the Western nations while still growing elsewhere, but Benny-16 and his school see the rise of the “cafeteria catholic”, and its potential spread, as a major threat that the Church may lose its doctrinal coherence and centrality. They also have not failed to notice the fast rate of growth of Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and Pentecostals (they overlap but are not one and the same) in formerly solid Catholic turf like South America and Central Europe, and in the "mission lands"of Africa and Asia; these being denominations more to the “right”.
And why indeed not incorporate gays into priesthood “because they have to be celibate anyway”? Well, no, the church by now are quite conscious that a vow of celibacy does not equal therapy to get over whatever you want to get over. And as the institution is not going to change basic policy on gays any time in our lifetimes, meara is quite right about their not wanting priest who won’t convey the policy to his fullest.