Four quotes from Light of the World.
"Homosexuality is incompatible with the priestly vocation. Otherwise, celibacy itself would lose its meaning as a renunciation." p. 152
"Respect for man (including men with homosexual inclination) is absolutely fundamental and decisive. At the same time, though, sexuality has an instrinsic meaning and direction, which is not homosexual." p. 151
"I believe that celibacy becomes a very meaningful sign, and above all becomes possible to live, when priests begin to form communities. It is important for priests not to live off on their own somewhere, in isolation, but to accompany one another in small communities, to support one another, and so to experience, and constantly realize afresh, their communion in service to Christ and in renunciation for the sake of the Kingdom." p. 149
"Celibacy is always, shall we say, an affront to what man normally thinks. It is something that can only be done, and is only credible, if there is a God and if celibacy is my doorway into the Kingdom of God. In this sense, celibacy is a special kind of sign. The scandal that it provokes consists precisely in the fact that there are people who believe these things..." p. 149
Perhaps one safeguard against the present isolation of priests might be stricter adherence to (and enforcement by the competent ecclesial authority of) the present norms on priestly attire. Priestly fraternity would be greatly increased if priests publicly--socially--dressed always as priests. They would have a visible and strong bond with each other.
For example: just imagine if all of the priests in New York City began today to religiously wear their public clerical attire! How it would transform the dignity of the priesthood and of Catholicism and of New York, the nation and the world. It would greatly strengthen each priest in his commitment to God. Just that simple habitual act of priestly obedience and solidarity. It would also more effectively keep priests out of places they should not go ==> thereby buttressing their celibate commitment on the practical level. By never being "off", priests would strengthen each other and the world beyond measure.
Something else that would help is getting rid of the ubiquitous confessional rooms and bring back the traditional confessional with a wall between priest and penitent. You have heard of the "protecting God's children" campaign. We need a parallel "protecting God's priests" campaign by not putting priests in the most precarious situation of being repeatedly and regularly behind closed doors in the most intimate confessional conversations with people. How is it that the bishops, who are supposedly so concerned with eliminating priest sexual misconduct have not addressed the very dangerous situation of the closed confessional room. Previous to the 1960's it was forbidden for a priest to hear to confessions of women, for instance, in a closed room! The confessional is the proper place for priestly counsel of women and children according to the age old wisdom of the Church.
The adage coined by Saint Teresa of Avila regarding the distance and necessary precautions in spiritual direction and confession is: entre santa y santo paredes de cal y canto. Which means that for nothing to happen (even between saints!) you need a very deep stone wall between them!!! Why are our bishops so out of touch with the real pastoral dangers for priests in their daily ministry. In the present climate it is foolish and presumptuous for a priest to habitually use a confessional room! It is a problem waiting to happen. No one seems to really care about our priests in this regard. Something needs to be done to safeguard priests against unchastity in that setting and against any possible accusations.
The bishops (or perhaps the pope) need to outlaw confessional rooms and insist on traditional confessionals in every parish as the habitual place for hearing confessions and spiritual direction of women and children.
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