Daily Illini
By John Bambenek
Published: Friday, December 2, 2005
It appears that some pundits believe the only acceptable response to the Catholic sex abuse crisis would be for the Pope to say, "You know, 2000 years has been a good run. We're out. Peace!" Then he would close the doors of the Catholic Church forever. This mentality can be seen by those who think the recent Vatican statement on homosexuals in the priesthood is somehow metaphysically about the sex abuse crisis.
The new rules basically say that active homosexuals or those supportive of gay culture (such as advocating gay marriage) cannot be ordained. In short, priesthood candidates need to live the doctrine of celibacy and be prepared to accept Catholic moral teaching. Current priests who are gay are unaffected, contrary to news reports that couldn't manage to find a quote from anyone in support of the new rules. There may be two sides of every story, but only one side apparently has enough merit to warrant quotes.
Eric Naing seems to think the new rules are about the sex abuse crisis. He also has found people to be homosexuals in almost every column this year based on inane details. It is no wonder Eric is worried about the difficulty of defining homosexual tendencies when he seems to think footwear choice is a matter of sexual orientation.
Pope John Paul II called for a study on the question of whether to admit homosexuals into the priesthood in 1994. The year 1994 is also known for being approximately eight years before the sex abuse crisis.