Editor,
I have known gay priests as my friends.
Many priests entered seminary as youth and never experienced much natural sexual exploration. Their sexual development was frozen! They were castrated, without knives, by strict sexual prohibitions. Years later they emerged into the world as parish priests – horny and lonely for intimacy but not prepared for mature romance. They related sexually largely to kids about the age the priests were when their sexual development was frozen. We can understand behavior without necessarily approving.
The Roman Catholic church has raped priests of a healthy sex life in adolescence and adulthood, poisoning them with the abominable lie that the more spiritual they are, the less they will need and yearn for passionate romantic intimacy.
Priests are sacrificed on the altar of this modern inquisition – thus avoiding a total conversion from evil and stupidity within the church, all of society and ourselves. Some priests raped youths, deeply harming them. These priests need to repent for that, but this is NOT the root of the problem. The Roma Catholic church and most religions need a thorough conversion of their obsession with shame, secrecy and guilt toward all sex!
I understand the rage many Catholics feel. They were taught from childhood on to feel heavy shame and guilt about masturbation, sexual desires and any sex outside heterosexual church marriage – whether male and female, female and female, male and male – and to confess these as sins privately to their priest. Then these Catholics find out some “celibate” priests were having sex with parish kids. Priests are the paid ambassadors of the Vatican’s longtime severe sexual repression, but some priests secretly reject those rules for themselves and rape youth.
Probably not all the accusers are telling the truth. Some may be lying to get a big money settlement. Some may not have felt victimized at the time, but have been caught up in the recent hysteria. Many others did suffer severe trauma – not just because of the sexual act, but also the secrecy, shame and guilt about sex instilled by church, parents and society.
My longtime friend, who is in his 60s, remembers a priest whom he loved when he was a teenager. Sometimes they slept together naked but did not have sex. My friend enjoyed the relationship and years later wished they had had sex.
Many adults, decades ago, when they were under 18 had consensual, affectionate sex with priests or other adults, but they now fear to go public about those experiences in this sexually insane society.
Because of the MANY severe risks for both youth and adult, it is NOT wise now in this society to have youth/adult sex – no matter how mutually consensual and affectionate. Such youth/adult relationships are as taboo and dangerous here and now as mutually consensual, affectionate sexual relationships were taboo and dangerous between a black person and a white person for centuries, especially in the U.S. South, even though some white masters raped black slaves.
No one young or old should ever use lies, threats, force, fear, booze or other drugs to get sex with someone of any age!
If zero tolerance were applied to many parents who have hit or cursed at their children, they would permanently lose custody of their children! What if zero tolerance were applied to cops, judges, corporations ... for one serious violation of someone’s rights? Can soldiers who killed children in war repent of their evil, be forgiven and change? Can anyone change and be forgiven for evil committed? Why can many Catholics far better accept their priest’s alcoholism or cigarette addiction than for him to celebrate publicly his romance with an adult man or woman?
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Don Schrader
