When a seminarian is gay. The fears of "contagion" of fundamentalist Catholics

Ba Robinson's article published on the website Religius tolerance On May 14, 2002, free translation by Laura Checconi

A 1961 Vatican document excludes homosexual orientation people from ordination and religious votes. This document, however, seems to have been almost completely ignored [1].

Some definitions

In this article we will frequently use the rather embarrassing term "homosexual orientation person"To avoid confusion. Terms as" gay "and" homosexual "are ambiguous (editor's note for fundamentalist Christians).

• For many conservative Christians, homosexuality is to be interpreted in terms of behavior. A homosexual is a person who has sex with people of the same sex
• For most of the others, including liberal religious, gays, lesbians, researchers in the field of human sexuality and psychotherapists, homosexuality is to be interpreted in terms of homosexual orientation. The term refers to the individual attracted by people of the same kind. A homosexual can choose to refrain from sexual intercourse or to be sexually active.

Which percentage of seminarians has a homosexual orientation?

As noted in an essay on the priests of homosexual orientation in the context of the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, a spectrum is estimated that goes from "Maybe more than 10%"At 58%. It is generally recognized that a great percentage of seminarians has a homosexual orientation. Nobody, however, is able to provide precise data.
The men of homosexual orientation could be attracted by the priesthood in the Catholic Church for a series of reasons:

• In the most likely case they feel deeply called by God to become priests
• Some may be attracted to the "nature of the priesthood which consists in taking care of others"[2]
• The current ban on marrying for them has no inhibitory influence against the priesthood, as it has it among the potential ordered with heterosexual orientation.
• Priests are generally respected by the population. Be ordered gives homosexuals immediate relief from persecution, which they have experienced as lay people
• The priesthood gives them protection from homophobia and from potential physical attacks they could suffer. Much of public opinion believes that many half -age or older men, who have never been married, are gay. For this, the priesthood becomes a safe place in which to hide its sexual orientation
• The Roman Catholic priesthood could be attractive for people of homosexual orientation because it is a completely male institution. They could feel comfortable in it.
• Some seminarians could be attracted by the homosexual subculture that is found in most seminars - a culture that is probably not present in schools that prepare for other professions.
• It is possible that some candidates for the priesthood with predatory intentions can seek ordination, because this could give him a position of power on the laity and access to many children

To date, the Roman Catholic Church does not normally exclude male candidates for the seminary only because they have a homosexual orientation. The only exception is considered (in the United States) St. Charles Borromeo Seminary of Philadelphia. [3] At least one seminar, the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Illinois, also known as Mondelein Seminary, accepts homosexual orientation students, but not those who admit to attend gay bars. [4] During the period in the seminary and after ordering, however, all students are still required to stay Casti.

With the current obligation in the church of priestly chastity, the seminars have difficulty recruiting heterosexual people for the priesthood.

• Father Donald Cozzens wrote several studies have concluded that about 50% of priests and seminarians are homosexual [5]
• David France of Newsweek, referring to St. John's seminary in Camarillo, California, wrote: "Based on those who ask, gay and bisexual men make up everywhere from 30% to 70% of the college students and those who have already concluded their studies " [3]
• Rev. Helmut Hefner, Rector of the St. John's seminary, "estimates that its gay members could reach 50%"[3]
• Gay journalist Rex Wockner commented: "When I was about twenty years old and I was in the seminary (St. Meinrad College, St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1982-1983; University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Illinois, 1983-1984), at least 50% of the students was gay ... at the St. Mary of the Lake, the straight students considered themselves a minority and felt excluded from some aspects of the life of the campus, This point that the administration organized a course in which we discussed the problem of heterosexual students who felt excluded ..."[6]
• The author and sociologist James G. Wolfe calculated that 55.1% of the seminarians were gay [7]
• Bishop Jerome Listercki, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, refuses some estimates according to which about 50% of seminarians would have a homosexual orientation [3]

It seems that about 50% of current seminary students can have a homosexual oriented.

Does gay subculture in seminars have heterosexual seminarians?

Many priests and theologians have commented on gay subcultures in Catholic seminars:

• An anonymous priest of the Boston area told in an interview collected by Joe Fitzgerald of Boston Herald: "There is a subculture of gay priests and everyone knows it. I went from the seminary with a lot of them and they made me advances. And when I reported it, I was tormented at such a point that, on an emotional level, the ordination became very difficult. I am not the only one who had to fight to overcome this situation, I know men who gave up the priesthood for this. It was clear that there was a congregation that was not worth. denouncing these things'. you would not believe in car justifications, such as, for example 'well, the celibacy refers only to the commitment not to get married, so if we do not get married we can do what we want'. [8] "
• Father McBrien, theologian at the University of Notre Dame, commented that some seminar students “... who believe they have a genuine vocation to the priesthood go to the seminary and feel very distance from gay culture. I don't say it in any homophobic sense. It is simply reality"[2]
• Pope John Paul II held a meeting with American cardinals on the theme of the sexual scandals of the clergy. Later, Bishop Wilton Gregory, head of the Conference of US Catholic Bishops said: "One of the difficulties that we must face in the life of the seminary and in the recruitment of seminarians is made possible when there is an "atmosphere" or a homosexual dynamic that obliges heterosexual men to think about it before entering the seminary. It is a continuous battle to ensure that the Catholic priesthood is not dominated by homosexual men"[9]
• R. Scott Appleby, a history professor at Notre Dame, said: "People I know pretty well have left the seminar, because many do not keep the votes, or for a feeling of extraneousness because they are not gay. In some cases it is a serious problem"[3]
• Rev. Wilton Gregory said: "There is an "atmosphere" or homosexual dynamic that makes heterosexual men reflect a lot before entering the seminary"[3]
• Rev. Charles Bouchard, president of the Falinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, said: "I think heterosexual priests and seminarians should not complain. I simply don't think it's such a serious question"[3]
• Father Donald Cozzens wrote: "What impact has gay subculture on heterosexual priests and seminarians? ... straight men in an environment mainly or decidedly gay often experience a chronic destabilization, of which a symptom is the doubt of themselves ... their psychic confusion, in an understandable way, has significant implications both on their spiritual vitality and on their emotional balance"[10]
• Timothy Radcliffe, former master general of the order of preachers, has spoken about the emergency represented by the homosexual subculture within the seminars or religious orders, which according to him "It can be a threat to the unit of the community; It can make the practice of chastity more difficult for brothers. It can also lead to a great pressure towards the brothers to think of themselves in a way that he beyond the centrality of their vocation to be preachers of the kingdom ..."[11]

References

The following sources of information were used to prepare and update this article. It is not said that all links are still active.

1. "Careful Selection and Training of Candidates for the States of Perfectation and Sacred Orders: (SC Rel., February 21961)". Online:http://www.rcf.org/
2. "Gay Priests", Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, 10 May 2002, online: http://www.pbs.org/
3. David France, "Gays and the Seminary", MSNBC, 200220, Online:http://www.msnbc.com/
4. "Catholic Seminary Admissions Tight in Scandal", The Data Lounge, March 27, 2002
5. "Vatican Threatens Gay Purge of Priesthood", The Data Lounge, 6 March 2002
6. Rex Wockner, "The End of Catholicism in America", Planetout
7. James G. Wolf, "Gay Priests", Harper and Row, 1989, p. 59-60. Quoted in Father Donald Cozzens, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul", Liturgical Press, (2000), pag. 99
8. Joe Fitzgerald, "Priest Fears Gays in Ranks Pose Threat to Church", Boston Herald, March 6, online:http://www.bostonherald.com/
9. Melinda Henneberger, "Pope Delivers Apology to Victims of Sex Abuse", New York Times, April 24, 2002
10. Op.Cit., Father Donald Cozzens, page 101
11. Timothy Radcliffe, op. cit., "The Promise of Life", International Dominican Information, #361, April 1998, Special issue, A Litter to the Order, page 96

Original text: Homosexual Orientation Among Catholic Seminarian Students