Word: mcneilled
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...twists of the Bible by which Father McNeill [Sept. 20] justifies homosexuality are but another victory in the anti-Christ campaign to wipe out every trace of self-discipline and self-control...
Thank you, Father McNeill! With you at the helm, the sinking ship, the Catholic Church, might keep afloat...
...McNeill denies that there is anything necessarily immoral about homosexual acts. The heart of his case is his reinterpretation of pertinent passages from the Bible, drawing on the work of other liberal scholars who say that condemnations of homosexuality were limited by the cultural context. Thus when the Law of Moses states, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," McNeill treats this as a protest against use of homosexuality in pagan rites. When St. Paul fulminates against "men committing shameless acts with men," McNeill reads it as opposition only to homosexual activity...
...Catholic Church has traditionally opposed birth control because each sexual act should be open to procreation. Many leading moral theologians now question that contention, and McNeill says their logic should lead them to re-study homosexuality, which has also been condemned because it contravenes the purpose of procreation. Curiously however, McNeill uses something of a natural-law argument of his own. "God so created humans that their sexuality is not determined by their biology," he writes. Therefore "the homosexual condition is according to the will...
...McNeill admits he has a "homosexual orientation" that he became aware of only after ordination, but he is committed to honoring his priestly vow of chastity. He is currently training to become a psychotherapist and plans to work primarily with homosexuals, while remaining a priest. He hopes that his book, along with organizations like the Roman Catholic Dignity, which he helped found, will at least provoke discussion and at best create new attitudes. "Once the church is aware of the destructive impact of its policies on hundreds of thousands of lives," he says, "it will have to change...