Wednesday 8 January 2014

PRESIDENT MC ALEESE CHALLENGES CATHOLIC CHURCH ON GAYS

Former Irish president Mary McAleese, who has urged a Scottish cardinal forced to stand down last year to admit publicly that he is gay, has said “a very large number” of Catholic priests are homosexuals.
The Catholic Church has been in denial over homosexuality for decades, particularly since many priests are gay, she said. “It isn’t so much the elephant in the room but a herd of elephants.
“I don’t like my church’s attitude to gay people. I don’t like ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’. If you are the so-called sinner, who likes to be called that? We also know that within the priesthood a very large number of priests are gay.”
“Nowadays, it is not something that is perceived as something that is intrinsically disordered. Homosexual conduct is not seen as evil,” said Mrs McAleese.She also criticised words attributed to the previous Pope on this subject as being contradictory. “Things written by [Pope] Benedict, for example, were completely contradictory to modern science and to modern understanding, and to the understanding of most Catholics nowadays in relation to homosexuality.
Her remarks were made in Edinburgh to the Glasgow-based Herald newspaper last month, but only published yesterday. She made them before she spoke last month to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
The former president, who has become increasingly outspoken about the church’s attitude to gays, compared the church’s stand to the “Christ killer” charge levelled against Jews for 2,000 years.
“I would have thought Cardinal Keith O’Brien, in telling the story of his life – if he was willing to do that – could have been of great assistance to gay people, not just in the church but elsewhere, who felt over many, many years constrained to pretend to be heterosexual while ... acting a different life.”

The Scottish cardinal had to resign last year as an archbishop when it emerged that he had had a homosexual relationship with a young priest.Last night, the Catholic Church in Scotland said it was up to Mrs McAleese to “raise these matters”, while it is “an entirely personal matter” for Cardinal O’Brien to decide on his future actions, a spokesman told The Irish Times.
Spokesman for the church in Ireland Martin Long said: “The Catholic Communications Office does not respond to reported comments of individuals ... the Catholic Church clearly teaches that people who are homosexual must always be treated with sensitivity, compassion and respect.”

5 comments:

  1. Wee Mary. Doesn't she look well! I love the short hairdo and the alleged bit of colour. With all this talk about sexual orientation it should be pointed out that there is no intrinsic link between Priesthood and Homosexuality. The fact that so many clerics happen to be gay is interesting to say the least. Having said that I wonder what proportion of clerics are straight-hate the word-and engaging with partners-Sean

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  2. Hi Sean,

    At least Mary is not as pro Church as she was when she was in The Park and never done entertaining clerics there.

    Of course there is no intrinsic link between priesthood and homosexuality.

    Just as there should be NO LINK between priesthood and celibacy.

    But the fact that the priesthood is becoming more and more a "gay" profession must be saying something about the state of priesthood / church today?

    Pat

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  3. You are right Pat and for once I am lost for words. What you discribe needs to be acknowledged and investigated in terms of social evolution rather that sin and blame. Come to think of it a dose of salts would do the church good. Remember the park? I'd forgotten all about it. Clarice & me is off to Egypt on 26th for a week because she is turning 50. Every blessing Sean & Clarice

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  4. A good book to read on this subject is "Good-bye, good men" by Michael Rose.
    It is still a sin that leads souls to Hell if practiced just like fornication.

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  5. I bet she still is a fully paid up member though - the hypocracy is vast!

    George

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