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	A Clash of Religion and Sexuality By Cindy Rodriguez Denver Post [Denver CO] Downloaded December 2, 2005 Once again, the Vatican is fending off accusations that it discriminates against many of the Roman Catholic Church's own members after releasing an instruction last week that essentially bars most gay men from becoming priests. The Congregation for Catholic Education, which wrote the edict, said: "The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, may not admit to the seminary and Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture." The writers never mentioned the clergy sexual-abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church, costing millions in lawsuits and prompting countless followers to leave. But it must have crossed their minds. Meanwhile, we're still waiting for instruction for how to keep sexual predators from entering seminaries. The church has not been as open and forthcoming as it should be in handling the thousands of victims who have come forward. That some priests are gay is not the root of the problem. A study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, released in February 2004, reported that 4 percent of priests in active ministry, 4,392 in all, were accused of sexually abusing a minor between 1950 and 2002. The researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice say the figures are likely much higher because their statistics were based on reports of abuse, while many victims live in silence. In many cases, allegations of priest molestations were dealt with quietly, with priests being transferred to other rectories where they resumed preying on other children. That most of the victims were boys, not girls, leads some to assume that most of the predatory priests were gay. It doesn't help that Focus on the Family and other homophobic groups continue to put out flawed, biased reports that suggest a high correlation between child molestation and being gay. Psychologists say pedophiles and those attracted to post-pubescent children aren't necessarily heterosexual or homosexual; they're in a deviant class all their own. Research shows that these deviants prefer nonconsenting sexual partners. So if they are looking for a place to hide, the church offers a good place. Since these predators tend to have above-average intelligence and know how to conceal their misdeeds, the church needs a strategy to identify them and keep them from becoming priests. It also needs to weed out pedophiles who are already serving in parishes across the world. Sharing some aspect of whatever church leaders are doing to get rid of these sick priests would go a long way to restoring our faith in the church. Instead, we get this instruction, which essentially eliminates most gay men. They've become the scapegoat of the church. Some Catholics will not question this new instruction, just as they believe it is not right to question the pope, the church or the priesthood. They are the same people who might believe it is heresy to suggest that we allow female priests, or that we allow priests to marry - even as fewer men enter the priesthood. Perhaps it's time for the church to reconsider allowing priests to marry. A celibate cleric isn't any more effective than a married one. Consider that no other denomination has been marred with so many sexual abuse cases as the Catholic Church. Changing the repressive structure of the priesthood makes sense, but the church isn't budging. Even as they discover more pedophile priests. Even as more followers leave the flock.
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