This article is from last February, but it's still timely. It's interesting to get the perspective from an avowed homosexual who entered religious life and then left during formation. It isn't clear from the interview whether he thinks acting on homosexual inclinations is wrong, but he definitely thinks homosexuals in the priesthood and religious life are no problemo. So I suppose he would agree that heterosexual priests living in a convent with the nuns would be no problemo either.
Apparently, according to Dowd, homosexuals in the priesthood isn't the problem; it's the secrecy. We need priests and monks to be able to come out of the closet and accept themselves for who they are. Then all will be well and they will psycho-sexually healthy. We just need a progressive pope to take the Church in a new direction.
Ai yi yi!
Actually maybe it would not be such a bad thing if they would come out. We would know where not to give our time and treasure.
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In my opinion, sexual orientation is DIRECTLY linked to the ability of one's spirit! In fact, a heterosexual man or a woman, have a naturally infused sense of bringing life into the world!!! A priest or sister, in my view, who voluntarily gives up such powerful natural right for the sake of the kingdom, transforms (with God's special blessing and help), his/her natural tendency into the ministry! Yes, you hear it right! Offers own self right to love and procreation for the sake of building up the Kingdom....of making the ministry of Jesus present....
ReplyDeleteTherefore, in my view, sexual orientation and quality (fruitfulness) of ministry ARE LINKED DIRECTLY!
In order to function and true priest or sister, a person, must redirect their natural tendency to love and procreate into a new dimension: This natural energy becomes NEW ENERGY! In my view you cannot have both, and in my view, based on many years of observation and real cases, homosexual orientation is responsible for a lot of disasters! A priest who acts his homosexual orientation is contradicting by example what he says he stands for, namely the Gospel! So, I consider homosexuality (active) as contradictory to the teaching of Jesus!. Its unnatural and its disaster, as many cases had shown....in short: active homosexual priest has no place in ministry period.
Well said!
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