The lines are being drawn

The lines are being drawn

I made this point in a previous post, but just so that it isn’t missed I wanted to put it in its own post.

The nice thing about this Instruction on homosexuals in the seminary is that it is concise, forthright, and to the point. It is written in such a way that any layman of average intelligence can understand its meaning and even the mainstream media knows which bits to quote. In short, it doesn’t read like something written by a committee.

The beauty of this document is that it provides a clear dividing line. On one side will be those who approach the document honestly and admit its clear meaning: Homosexual men are not to be ordained and those with homosexual tendencies must rid themselves of such first.

On the other side will be those who twist themselves into knots trying to get the document to say what it does not say, i.e. the “spirit” of the document. Either they will say that the Instruction is purely advisory or doesn’t carry the force of law or the Pope’s authority; or they will say that it is merely a reminder that priests and seminarians should be celibate and chaste; or that it addresses both homosexuals and heterosexuals, telling that their orientations should not dominate their personalities (thanks to Bishop Skylstad for that one).

Of course there will also be those who acknowledge the document says what it says and respond shrilly, wailing about discrimination or oppression or that this will decimate the priesthood or some such silliness.

In any case, wherever you see in the coming days anyone—especially someone in a collar—coming out against this Instruction and its clear meaning, you will know exactly where he stands and where he’s coming from. Thank you Pope Benedict for making it so easy to expose those who are working from a different agenda.

Technorati Tags: Catholic, homosexuality, priesthood

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