Proposed ban on homosexual priests will create, not solve, problems for the Church
Richard Friedman
A Skewed Perspective
On Nov. 6, the Vatican press office released a statement acknowledging a new internal document that is being considered that, if passed, will attempt to exclude homosexual men from becoming priests. In its current form, the document states that seminaries should screen men with "homosexual tendencies" from joining.
Response to the document has varied widely, but I for one feel that fact that the document is even being considered is an insult to many Catholics. Not only does it falsely place blame for the Church's scandal on homosexual priests, but banning homosexuals from the priesthood will only serve to further alienate a population which has been repeatedly ostracized by the Catholic Church.
To begin, the idea of blaming the recent scandal on homosexual priests has little logical basis. Even though many of the children molested were boys, in-depth research has never found a link between homosexuality and pedophilia. Likewise, it has been shown that there is little correlation between an adult's sexual preference and the gender of his chosen victims. While pedophiles tend to chose victims of one gender, that chosen gender seems to be linked to many outside variables much more than adult sexual preference.
As with almost all things in life, sexuality does not affect the way one acts. This is especially true of most things relating to the priesthood. For one thing, all priests are required to live celibately. Whether their secular relationship choices may have been of different genders, all priests — gay or straight — must give up those types of relationships as part of their vocation. How then does one's theoretical sexual preference make any sort of difference?
Along a similar line, I have also heard that gay men should not be priests because an integral part of the priesthood is the sacrifice of a wife and children, something that a gay man wouldn't have anyway.
This logic is also flawed, however, since while it is true that based on Church doctrine gay men should not be engaging in homosexual activities, celibate gay relationships are considered acceptable. In fact, several Catholic groups, such as Dignity, encourage just such a relationship. Giving up this possibility is just as much of a sacrifice for a gay man as giving up the possibility of a wife for a straight man.
Besides, this reasoning also reduces the priesthood to a matter of sexual sacrifice; whereas I would think that being a good priest is a lot more about your personal relationship and calling with God than about what you have given up for it.
Secondly, the idea of banning gay priests is likely to backfire on many levels. In regards to the recent scandal, a ban on homosexuality will likely end honest discussion and communication about any sexuality, a situation that is likely to breed the type of hostile environment that leads to the kind of abuse that the church is trying to prevent. Instead of allowing seminarians and priests to deal openly with their sexuality and to come to healthy terms with it, they will instead be forced further into the closet. Instead of having emotionally healthy priests who have dealt with their sexuality, we will have people who are suffering in silence and unable to appropriately cope with their stresses and feelings.
But it is not only the gay priests who will be suffering because of this document. The Catholic Church does not have the best track record with homosexual members as it is, but this would likely cause a large rethinking on the part of many gay Catholics. In recent times the Church has seemingly made progress towards respecting and welcoming gay members, especially on the more localized levels. This document would basically negate all these recent efforts.
How could the Church continue to preach that we should love our homosexual brothers and sisters while at the same time discriminate against them?
The recent scandals have caused a lot of controversies in the Catholic Church and have brought out a number of issues that need to be dealt with. The Catholic Church was caught off-guard, and now it is looking for a way out. Instead of accepting the blame for what has happened, the Church is instead trying to place it on others. This "step forward" they are proposing is really just the opposite.
Gay Catholics are already leaving the Church because of feelings that they are unwelcome and not understood. Falsely blaming homosexuals for an unrelated scandal and banning them from taking an active part in the religion will only further these feelings and cause more dissension. This document does nothing to solve the current issues or to even help them along; instead, it harms an already injured population and serves to skirt the Church's real responsibilities.
Richard Friedman is a senior double majoring in architecture and psychology. His column will run every other Thursday, and he always welcomes your comments at rfriedma@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, November 21, 2002
