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poliphiloThe Catholic Church taught gay men to hate themselves, then offered them a way out by becoming (celibate) priests and monks.
Now Pope Ratzinger plans to stop gays entering the priesthood. (Though God knows how.)
As we plough on into the 21st century the Church hierarchy responds to the pressures of modernity by becoming even tighter-arsed.
It's a mad policy- one that will deepen an already calamitous manpower crisis.
Of course it's impossible to be sure how many of the great figures in the Church's history were gay, but it's certain that lots of them were. Several of the Renaissance Popes were shameless. Julius III made his lover a cardinal. So did Paul IV.
More recently Pope Paul VI (1963-78) was outed by the writer Roger Peyrefitte as the patron of an exclusive male brothel in Milan.
At the heart of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. Its paintings are among the core images of western Christendom. They are the work of Michelangelo- the greatest of the many gay artists to have served the Church. I like to think of Ratzinger sitting there in his white and gold with all those voluptuous male nudes gesticulating at his back and flying over his head.
They will be gesticulating and flying (and seducing all-comers) long after Ratzinger has gone.
Now Pope Ratzinger plans to stop gays entering the priesthood. (Though God knows how.)
As we plough on into the 21st century the Church hierarchy responds to the pressures of modernity by becoming even tighter-arsed.
It's a mad policy- one that will deepen an already calamitous manpower crisis.
Of course it's impossible to be sure how many of the great figures in the Church's history were gay, but it's certain that lots of them were. Several of the Renaissance Popes were shameless. Julius III made his lover a cardinal. So did Paul IV.
More recently Pope Paul VI (1963-78) was outed by the writer Roger Peyrefitte as the patron of an exclusive male brothel in Milan.
At the heart of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. Its paintings are among the core images of western Christendom. They are the work of Michelangelo- the greatest of the many gay artists to have served the Church. I like to think of Ratzinger sitting there in his white and gold with all those voluptuous male nudes gesticulating at his back and flying over his head.
They will be gesticulating and flying (and seducing all-comers) long after Ratzinger has gone.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 06:05 am (UTC)Oh, for a new Church with open doors and a sense of wonder and delight.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 07:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 07:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 08:04 am (UTC)And Ratzinger is very old. He won't be around for long.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 08:15 am (UTC)It does seem to me that sexual orientation or proclivity is a separate issue entirely from controlling oneself. But perhaps I'm being simplistic.
It seems equally sensible--or nonsensical--to make a rule that reads, "If you plan to molest altar boys, you cannot be a priest."
They ought to at least write that down, too.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-30 08:27 am (UTC)It was stupid and inhumane, but this new development is worse.
Vocations are bound to fall away and
(this is the good bit)
somewhere down the line the Church will have to statt ordaining women out of sheer desperation.