AUSTRALIA
The Age
By Muriel Porter
October 3, 2005
A PREDICTED move by the Pope to ban even celibate gay men from joining the priesthood is a tragic over-reaction to the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in recent years.
Reports from Vatican-watchers around the world suggest that a worldwide ban could be imposed within weeks. In the United States in particular, a year-long Apostolic Visitation of the 229 Catholic seminaries, about to begin, is expected to search diligently for any hint of homosexual behaviour, even "particular friendships".
Sadly, the Catholic Church's response is just part of a disturbing pattern manifesting itself in all the churches. The clergy, it seems, rather than church hierarchies, are paying the price for the scandal. They have become the scapegoats for the churches' humiliation. They are the new victims of the sexual abuse crisis.