Holy See rocked as senior Vatican priest comes out as gay

[onthemoon]

Wow. I thought Catholic priests were supposed to be asexual beings but this one is in an actual - gay - relationship:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/holy-see-rocked-as-senior-vatican-priest-comes-out-as-gay-1.2377934

“ I am ready to pay the consequences of this but the moment has come for the Church to open its eyes to gay believers and to understand that the solution which it offers to gays, namely total abstinence from a love life, is simply inhuman.”

When you read the whole article, you know that he is not surprised that this cost him his job:

http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-fires-gay-priest-eve-synod-111749759.html

"The Vatican on Saturday fired a monsignor who came out as gay"

My highest respects go to this gentleman for his courage.

[isanbirder]

It is sad this had to happen, but there are a lot of gay Catholics who will be supporting him.

[onthemoon]

As a Catholic priest, he is not supposed to have any sex, much less a relationship. While he was now fired of his positions in the Vatican, the Yahoo news article says he is still a priest.

If he weren't still a priest, he could either found a new Christian denomination or join MCC. It is a difficult decision for the Vatican:

Let him be a priest? - That would cause problems with the vow of celibacy that is being discussed anyway, and problems with the discussions about homosexuality which is still in its infancy in the Catholic church. (Just starting to change from "homosexuality an abomination" to "maybe we should think about whether God loves all our brothers and sisters". Scandals are not appreciated at this moment.)

Kick him out of priesthood? This would give great political support to dissenting denominations, for example MCC, and might drag (no pun intended) Catholic gays (of which there are many) away from the Catholic Church to the other denominations. The Vatican can't use that right now, as they are fighting for membership which is dwindling across the world anyway.

[isanbirder]

The Synod on the Family is just about to open, and these things will be discussed.

I hope that Mgr. Charasma's coming-out will not put the bishops on the defensive. It may well do so.

[shirtless]

So what if he is Gay , its better than all the current pedo priests the catholic church supports and hides their nefarious acts.

[canuckamuck]

The Bible (the authority the church is built upon) is clear that is better for people to be married than to attempt abstinence because very few people are wired for celibacy. However the Catholic Church has decided it knows better than its Holy Book, and therefore has put abusive expectations its clergy for the more than a millennia.

It is in incalculable the torment this heresy has inflicted upon centuries of clergy.

[onthemoon]

It's all over the world news now, and ThaiVisa's World News section has picked it up too: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/860411-polish-priest-dismissed-from-vatican-post-after-coming-out-as-gay

[Gandonsi]

What did they actually fire him for? Was it because of his orientation or the fact that he had an active sex life? The Catholic Church teaches celibacy so priests should be expected to practice that. Of course we all know that they don't but still.

Was this man really standing up for his orientation or right to have a sex life?

In any case expecting the Church to change its ancient traditions on priesthood and marriage is like expecting them to revamp their doctrine altogether including their views on trinitarianism and female priests. It won't happen and at the end of the day, even if we disagree, it's their right to have such rules within their organization. As long as they're not burning people at the stake then as far as I'm concerned they're allowed to govern themselves however they want.

In truth there's probably a lot of gay Catholic priests and yes I wonder why there's a fuss made over them but not the pedophile scumbags who no doubt still infest the Church. That's what the Catholic Church should concentrate on rooting out.

[isanbirder]

Gandonsi, the Church would never give a reason.... just say that he was relieved of his posts.

[robertthebruce]

and here is me thinking ''God'' loved everyone........

[onthemoon]

and here is me thinking ''God'' loved everyone........

Apparently, God does but the Church doesn't. Don't mix up the two.

[NickJ]

What about Thai Monks that have sex.

Not all Catholic Priests are the same. I went to a Jesuit Univ. Worked part time in there Residence Hall or Rectory. There community is about as diverse as one can imagine....from super liberal to ultra conservative. Many had 9 to 5 jobs and quite a few were Doctors and lawyers. One of my Univ teachers had no problem with having gay priests. He said he was a heterosexual but......he was celibate. It was funny to watch him check out the girls every once and awhile and everyone would laugh. I kept tabs on him for decades.

[onthemoon]

Thai monks, like Catholic priests, have made a vow for celibacy. If they break that vow, they will be defrocked. But I believe a discussion about this belongs in the Religion subforum rather than the Gay subforum.

The subject is a gay issue, because I don't believe there would be such a big scandal if this priest had come out as someone who had had a girlfriend for years - he would just be fired for having broken his vow. But being gay is a sensitive issue in the Catholic Church right now.

Your story at the Jesuit University is quite interesting, how long ago was that?