September 30, 2005

THE SOUND OF RAW NERVES BEING HIT

Pope Benedict XVI made it clear he was going to undertake some serious house-cleaning. A pontifical commission is examining all of America's seminaries for fidelity to both Church doctrine and clerical vows of chastity and obedience. I expect similar scrutiny will be paid to Catholic institutions of higher learning, many of which are Catholic in name only. One of the first indications the Left is feeling the heat are the predictable cries that Benedict is on a gay-bashing witch hunt with the expected reaffirmation of the ban on homosexuals in the priesthood, which has not been rigorously enforced in the past.

Posted by LMC at September 30, 2005 02:28 PM | TrackBack
Comments

What, he's not going after witches, or scientists who believe the Earth revolves around the Sun? Dam liberal slacker.

I can't imagine that a Catholic Pope would want Catholics to actually hew to Catholic doctrine.

Posted by: rbj at September 30, 2005 03:38 PM
The Rev. Gerald Chojnacki, head of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, said in a letter to his priests that he was asking bishops to tell Vatican officials who are drafting the policy "of the great harm this will cause many good priests and the Catholic faithful."

Chojnacki wrote in the letter, dated Monday, that he had participated in the funerals of several gay Jesuit clergy over the last few years.

"I find it insulting to demean their memory and their years of service by even hinting that they were unfit for priesthood because of their sexual orientation," he wrote.

Where, precisely, in all of that are you deriving the notion that this Jezzie is crying that Pope Benedict is on a "gay bashing witch hunt"?

The rhetoric doesn't match up and it makes them both look the worse for it.

Posted by: Kathy at September 30, 2005 03:46 PM

What other implication is there to be drawn from the last sentence of the above "insulting to demean their memory by even hinting they were unfit for the priesthood because of their sexual orientation" than that Vatican is engaging in gay-bashing? Would homophobia be a better description?

Posted by: LMC at September 30, 2005 04:12 PM

How's about taking his words at face value? That it's indeed insulting and demeaning to the memories of these deceased gay priests by claiming they weren't fit for the priesthood they served for years because of their sexual orientation. That's not accusing the Vatican of gay bashing. That's stating the truth as he sees it. It's not, however, implying that the Pope is gay bashing.

Posted by: Kathy at September 30, 2005 05:35 PM

Insulting and demeaning isn't bashing? That's not splitting hairs, that's smashing the hairs' atoms.

Posted by: Brian B at September 30, 2005 05:57 PM

It is insulting and demeaning to the 1st millenium Roman Catholic married priests that vows of celibacy are mandatory in the Roman rite. It's the exact same stupidity, different issue.

Posted by: TM Lutas at October 1, 2005 05:35 PM

I don't know why people expect the Catholic church to change.... If you want change, join the Universalist-Unitarians.

(And the last Pope rescinded the verdict against Galileo - that only took what, 450 years.... Yep, that's an organization that will be in step with the times!)

Seriously, if you have problems with Catholic church dogma, find another church - there are many that are more modern.

Posted by: Zendo Deb at October 2, 2005 10:59 PM