The Catholic Church is getting a lot of press on the newly released Document on Priesthood. Here is an excerpt containing the most controversial portion:
(20) The spiritual director has the obligation to evaluate all the qualities of the candidate's personality and to make sure that he does not present disturbances of a sexual nature, which are incompatible with the priesthood. If a candidate practices homosexuality or presents deep-seated homosexual tendencies, his spiritual director, as well as his confessor, have the duty to dissuade him in conscience from proceeding toward ordination. It goes without saying that the candidate himself has the primary responsibility for his own formation.(21) He must offer himself trustingly to the discernment of the Church, of the bishop who calls him to orders, of the rector of the seminary, of his spiritual director and of the other seminary educators to whom the bishop or major superior has entrusted the task of forming future priests. It would be gravely dishonest for a candidate to hide his own homosexuality in order to proceed, despite everything, toward ordination. Such a deceitful attitude does not correspond to the spirit of truth, loyalty and openness that must characterize the personality of him who believes he is called to serve Christ and his Church in the ministerial priesthood.
So here's an interesting question. If, for the purposes of this discussion, some people are predisposed genetically to homosexuality, but they vow to be celibate as a priest, and indeed they truly remain celibate, then should they be banned from ordination and serving as a priest? Is this fundamentally different from a celibate heterosexual being ordained and serving as a priest?
Another intriguing way of wording this question is this: If some people are genetically predisposed to homosexuality, then would God call these people to serve as celibate priests?
What do you think? I can see arguments for both sides.
Filed in: catholicism, ordination, ministry, church, theology
1 comment:
The problem with your question, "If, for the purposes of this discussion, some people are predisposed genetically to homosexuality, ..." is that this issue is not one of mercy, tolerance, inclusion or grace. It is one of truth.
People are simply not "born either hetero- or homo-sexual", nor are they born with certain sexual presdispositions. This line of argument, used primarily for gaining acceptance of the homosexual movement in the mainstream community, is even disputed by homosexual activists nowadays (because they find it hard to recruit to the lifestyle because of it). Peadophiles and other sexual deviants are now adapting it to their own circumstances in order to beat crimnal convictions.
The fact is that, world-wide, between about 2.5% and 4.0% of a population is participating the homosexual lifestyle. There are many examples of people who adopted this lifestyle but later rejected it in order to live as the Bible teaches ... in other words, once they were introduced to the truth they rejected the lie.
The fact is that homosexuality is a choice. God created us male and female and the Bible clearly teaches that God does not accept this particular choice as being consistent with Christian life or witness.
If it were otherwise the Bible could not be trusted on any other matter, either. Or perhaps God simply got his creation wrong and we know better than he does? Neither scenario makes for a Christianity I want to be involved with.
I believe the Roman Catholics have got this right ... to a point. The issue is not one of "practise" vs "predisposition", but one of truth and the Word of God. Any denomination departs from these at their peril.
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