This is a terrific interview of the embattled Archbishop of Minneapolis and St Paul (he is credibly accused of covering up child-abuse and having inappropriate relations with other men) that is worth watching in full as well as the extract below. But the interaction below truly reveals how morally bankrupt Church teaching on homosexuality is. In fact, even Nienstedt concedes that he understands how the church’s position – that all gays must remain celibate for life – does not make any sense when given the actual lives of actual human beings:
Here’s the transcript of that section:
N: Homosexuals need to lead chaste lives.
L: They need to lead celibate lives?
N: Well, yes.
L: Okay. Does that seem reasonable to you, that we should all lead the lives of priests?
N: Well… um…
L: Tell me, archbishop, why should I lead the life of a priest?
A: Because it is of your nature to, um, express yourself sexually through a committed relationship.
L: I am. I’ve been with the same partner and husband now for 21 years.
And there you have it. Someone who expresses their sexuality through a committed relationship of 21 years has no place in the Catholic church if they are gay. In fact, it seems that the more committed the relationship, the greater the penalty. Gay men and women who have married in a civil ceremony find themselves singled out for discrimination and expulsion. Here’s the latest example via New Ways Ministry:
Colin Collette was the beloved music director at Holy Family Church in Inverness for seventeen years, but lost that job when he became engaged to his longtime partner last week. The couple was traveling in Rome, when Collette’s partner proposed in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, and then they posted the good news on Facebook. The Daily Herald details what happened next:
“On Sunday, after leading the music for all five Masses at Holy Family, Collette said church pastor [Father] Terry Keehan asked him to come to his office. ‘He said, ‘I know this is something you’ve been longing for a long time, and in light of this I’d be happy to accept your resignation,’ ‘ Collette said, recounting what Keehan told him. Collette said at first he considered resigning, but something inside him told him he shouldn’t because he had done nothing wrong. He left Keehan’s office without resigning, but was fired Monday, he said.”
According to Collette, his relationship was never secret and his partner, who is Catholic, was an active member of the parish and known to Keehan. The music director cleared out his office on Tuesday
One reason I veer toward greater religious freedom than many of my fellow gays is that I believe that perhaps it is only through witnessing these extreme injustices and inhumanity that the people of the church will start demanding a change in these practices. These instances tell the world something about Catholicism – its continuing cruelty and disdain for gay people’s actual lives. Many, many Catholics do not think of gay people that way. It’s time their disproportionately gay clergy did the same.
The Dish 