All the Tawdry Details

Reading this story from Venezuela about a priest murdered and discovered in a compromising position, gave me pause because I understand that sometimes stories are intentionally or unintentionally exaggerated, misunderstandings develop and the truth takes a back seat to selling newspapers. I guess the reporting seemed a little too gleeful.

Well it turns out that according to Whispers in the Loggia the news web source is a known propaganda organ for the very anti-Catholic Chavez. But are the details in question?

Today the Archbishop of Venezuela, Robert Luckert releases this statement condemning the Attorney General for releasing inflammatory details of the crime scene:

"Carlitos, the problem is that a man was killed, not if he was gay."

That sounds disturbingly like an acknowledgement that 1. the priest was gay and 2. the circumstances of his murder were a result of immoral behavior. The Archbishop believed that the attorney general was making the statements so people would conclude that the priest deserved to be murdered because he was gay. Now it's true that whether or not this individual was gay is not technically a problem for the Attorney General but it sure is a problem for the Archbishop and the priest and his parishoners. In fact we have gone from a ban on ordaining homosexuals (which wasn't enforced) to a ban on active homosexuals who have not been celibate for the 3 years prior to ordination to the priesthood. In spanish I would call that a grande problemo.

I'd like to think that this story isn't true. But what is saddest of all is that the Church has made become a very easy target for these types of stories because most people will read it and believe it. The stereotype of the homosexual priest has become, well a stereotype and it is going to take more than 3 years of celibacy prior to ordination to change that.

Today Rorate Caeli says that the document about homosexuals and ordination has been adjusted, finessed and the result seems to be a "don't ask, don't tell" loophole for gay seminarians. Seminarians are said to have the right to keep their own counsel and no one is to violate that. So secret homosexuality whether a tendency or a lifestyle is still protected. You have to wonder how that will change the current climate in the Church of a homosexual subculture and a lay distrust of the hierarchy who have almost given up the expectation that only straight, celibate men will be ordained.