Even before Pope Francis was elected, Pope Benedict XVI's resignation was surrounded by stories regarding this homosexual scandal. There were reports in Rome claiming that Cardinals in the curia were blackmailed. Shortly afterwards, Cardinal O' Brien was removed from his post after reports surfaced that he was sexually harassing priests and seminarians.
The story of homosexuals in the Church is not new. For decades, it has been known that homosexuals have infiltrated the Catholic Church in all levels in an attempt to push for change and an acceptance to their lifestyle. The book "Goodbye! Good Men: How Catholic Seminaries Turned Away Two Generations of Vocations From the Priesthood," by Michael S. Rose is an excellent source regarding this. In the book, Rose writes on how seminarians were turned away from seminaries for being Catholic. They were harassed for using clericals (cassock/collar shirt/habits), sacramentals, following canon law and adhering to Catholic teachings. They were even encouraged to date, explore themselves sexually and use porn and other means of sexual diversion.
Even disgraced ex-Catholic priest, Alberto Cutie gives account in his book about homosexuality in the archdiocese of Miami. Archbishop emeritus Favalora, is rumored to be a homosexual who lived a double life while archbishop of Miami. It is rumored that he partially owned a company that provided aphrodisiac drinks and enjoyed the company of good looking young males. Archbishop Rembert Weakland was also in scandal after news surfaced that he paid off a male in order to prevent a lawsuit. This male was supposedly a male lover of the archbishop's. He stepped down and archbishop Dolan took his place before being assigned to New York and elevated a Cardinal. September 11 priest-hero, Mychal Judge is also said to be a known homosexual priest.
This news is of no surprise, but is nonetheless disturbing. The Catholic priesthood is serious ministry. A priest acts in the person of Christ by administering the Sacraments and giving blessings to the people of God in the Catholic Church. Homosexuality is not compatible with this ministry nor with the Christian way of life. The Vatican is clear that homosexuals cannot be priests. This is not because homosexuals are somehow inferior or what not. They are not inferior. This is because of the simple fact that if a male is attracted to other men, it will be extremely difficult to work in an all male environment. The candidate would only be presenting himself in a situation that will make him fall into sin.
As usual, God protects His Church. Despite this infiltration of homosexuals, the Catholic Church is still thriving. God will clean the Church out of this filth and will restore her. The Holy Spirit will renew the Church into the bride that she is.
We must pray for our priests and seminarians. We must pray that God will give us holy men to join the priesthood. Not only should we pray for seminarians, but also women joining the religious life. Many times, men and women join seminary or the religious life in order to "control" their homosexuality. In some cases, this may make it worse. Homosexual tendencies are something that are extremely powerful and in a sense, addictive.
May God give Pope Francis the grace, strength and wisdom so that he can rid the Church of this infiltration of homosexuality.
Source:
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18120
http://the-american-catholic.com/2013/03/04/cardinal-o-brien-and-the-lavender-mafia/
http://the-american-catholic.com/2013/02/26/rembert-weakland-and-the-lavender-mafia/
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-expert-details-39huge-homosexual-underground-in-the-church39/
I feel Pope Francis has a very tough job here. He did such a great job, stressing that we have to be forgiving and accepting. And He is praying for us and we have to pray for Him in a big way, and we have to love each other. By loving each other He means loving each other but with God's love not sexual love. People are getting what God has for all of us and what we have for him all mixed up with the sexual love between partners. The church should be forgiving and accepting of people, but not support some choices people make. God's rules and commandments are still God's rules and Commandments, that should not change. Give to God what God needs (our Spiritual Love & acceptance of God's rules) and give to society what society needs (acceptance of manmade laws and non-judgement of our fellow human being). Everyone can and will make their own choices, and God's love and judgement we will feel at the end of our days.
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