The Dominicans and other religious organizations that rebel against the pope are described perfectly in the Old Testament by Ezekiel (34:2), who writes, "woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves. Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?" Here's what Ezekiel is talking about: instead of renting space in the priory to the retired schismatics in the Applied School of Theology, why not fill the priory with young, orthodox men with vocations to the priesthood of Jesus Christ? Rather than saying, "[T]hese men have been removed from.any contact with minors," why not be honest with the parents in the area and tell them that there are criminal sex offenders in the house and they walk past your house to go to the store? And instead of personally attacking the writer of a Catholic newspaper, why not encourage your bright young friars to write articles for the Faith and learn editing skills from the Faith's talented staff? After all, the goal of the Dominican Order, according to your Charter of Fulk (1215, Toulouse), is "to root out the corruption of heresy" and "to teach the creed." And instead of complaining about how your image is perceived by the readers of a newspaper, why not thank the writers of Faith for their honest and well-researched critique and acknowledge the truth in their report? We both know that the Dominican Order is bigger and more venerable than the San Francisco Faith; so why not act like it? Pat the Faith on the back, tell them they are doing a great job, and admit publicly that there is a homosexual problem within the order. Be virtuous and promise the readers that the Dominincan vocations committees in the future will be guided by the 1961 Instruction from Pope John XXIII, which states, "advancement to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers."

Peter Seila
received via e-mail