Word: priesthoods
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Seven months into Benedict XVI's papacy, however, some Vatican watchers have noticed that the Vatican PR machine is not exactly purring along. Tuesday's official release of the Vatican's long-awaited document reinforcing a ban on gays from the priesthood concludes a messy chapter on how not to do damage control...
...appeal as much to voters who wanted to hear comfortable words. Philippe Dahbi Rockenhausen, Germany Gays Need Not Apply You reported that pope Benedict XVI may reaffirm a ban on homosexuals entering the seminary [Oct. 3]. The Pope may be intent on a "thorough cleaning up of the priesthood." But given the Roman Catholic Church's history of sexual abuse of children by the clergy, why has it taken so long for anything to be done? Can it be that aberrant behavior and hypocritical attitudes are finally costing the church sizable amounts of money? Richard Kusnierek Orange Park, Florida...
...reported that Pope Benedict XVI may reaffirm a ban on homosexuals entering the seminary [Oct. 3]. The Pope may be intent on a "thorough cleaning up of the priesthood." But given the Roman Catholic Church's history of sexual abuse of children by the clergy, why has it taken so long to act? Can it be that aberrant behavior is finally costing the church big money...
What purpose is served by barring a celibate gay male from entering the seminary or the priesthood? Reaffirming a ban on gays from participating as Catholic priests would drive away some of the very few men willing to serve the church and live celibate lives...
That suited Plante, who is comfortable with the 20% to 40% of the priesthood he believes are homosexually oriented. He notes that while Catholic teaching calls homosexuality a disorder, the American Psychiatric Association dropped that descriptive decades ago. "Being gay in and of itself, I would hope, wouldn't prevent someone from becoming a priest," he says. All four church-contracted psychologists interviewed by TIME agreed vociferously with his contention that homosexuality doesn't make one more likely to sexually abuse children. For instance, Father Gerard McGlone, a Jesuit psychologist and a vice president of Saint Joseph's University...