ROME
LifeSite
By John-Henry Westen
ROME, November 23, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The leak of what has been confirmed by various sources as the Vatican document barring from entering the Catholic priesthood men who are homosexual, has spurred comments from various leaders within the Catholic church. Some of those comments have exposed the commentators as willingly and resolutely opposed to the Catholic teaching on the matter of homosexuality and the priesthood.
In addition, faithful Catholics both within the hierarchy and among the laity have spoken up to defend the Vatican's statements, despite animosity from the media guardians of political correctness.
Apart from the usual anti-Catholic groups, which to no-one's surprise used the leaked document as yet another opportunity to bash the Church, Catholic priests opposed to the Vatican stand have publicly exposed their dissent from Christian moral teaching. In addition to Rochester, NY, Bishop Matthew H. Clark, and Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, the former international leader of the Dominican Order, who came out against the long-standing Vatican position in recent weeks (see coverage http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/nov/05111406.html ), the controversial Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has, through the diocesan spokesman, not surprisingly also come out against Catholic teaching as re-emphasized by the Vatican document.