Admitting gay seminarians to a school full of men?

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Thorolfr:
But I do think that most professional psychologists would not consider homosexuals more likely than heterosexuals to abuse children or sexually harass adults.
Except for a few extremists, I don’t think that was the point of what most people are trying to say.
But how can homosexuality be the root cause of the sexual abuse crisis if homosexuals are not more likely to sexually abuse children or sexually harass adults.
 
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mrsdizzyd:
As I said, the term comes from psychologists. Here is an explanation. This is a published article.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/002436311803888302
The article you posted, “The Distinction between Deep-Seated Homosexual Tendencies and Transitory Same-Sex Attractions in Candidates for Seminary and Religious Life,” is by two Catholic therapists, Peter Kleponis and Richard P. Fitzgibbons, and it’s published in Linacre Quarterly, which Wikipedia describes as, “the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association and primarily focuses on the relationship between medicine and spirituality.”

There’s nothing wrong with any of this, but the term “deep-seated” is obviously one that is derived from Church documents, not from psychology.
The Catholic Medical Association is just that: an association of medical professionals who are also Catholics. They are still professionals whether or not you find them to be credible. They still see clinical value in the distinction whether or not you agree. The church also sees value in the distinction whether or not you agree.

You can’t fault CAF members for using the language of the church and the doctors the church consults.
 
The Catholic Medical Association is just that: an association of medical professionals who are also Catholics. They are still professionals whether or not you find them to be credible. They still see clinical value in the distinction whether or not you agree. The church also sees value in the distinction whether or not you agree.

You can’t fault CAF members for using the language of the church and the doctors the church consults.
They should at least not rely on junk psychology or junk science. According to the abstract of the article you posted:
A thorough in-depth clinical interview that focuses on masculine identity and an evaluation of the development of a positive masculine identity through secure attachment relationships with the father, male peers, and a brother, as well as a positive body image and thorough psychological testing, can distinguish clearly between deep-seated homosexual tendencies and transitory same-sex attractions in candidates for priesthood.

The lack of secure, accepting, and positive relationships with the male peers, the father, and a brother can result in weaknesses in male confidence, sadness, and anger which are major unconscious factors in the development of same-sex attractions.
The theory that people become gay because they did not have positive male role models or had some sort of dysfunctional relationship with their fathers or other male members of their family has not been accepted by most psychologists for quite some time. There are lots of gay men who did not have dysfunctional childhoods and grew up in families with perfectly normal parents.
 
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mrsdizzyd:
The Catholic Medical Association is just that: an association of medical professionals who are also Catholics. They are still professionals whether or not you find them to be credible. They still see clinical value in the distinction whether or not you agree. The church also sees value in the distinction whether or not you agree.

You can’t fault CAF members for using the language of the church and the doctors the church consults.
They should at least not rely on junk psychology or junk science. According to the abstract of the article you posted:
A thorough in-depth clinical interview that focuses on masculine identity and an evaluation of the development of a positive masculine identity through secure attachment relationships with the father, male peers, and a brother, as well as a positive body image and thorough psychological testing, can distinguish clearly between deep-seated homosexual tendencies and transitory same-sex attractions in candidates for priesthood.

The lack of secure, accepting, and positive relationships with the male peers, the father, and a brother can result in weaknesses in male confidence, sadness, and anger which are major unconscious factors in the development of same-sex attractions.
The theory that people become gay because they did not have positive male role models or had some sort of dysfunctional relationship with their fathers or other male members of their family has not been accepted by most psychologists for quite some time. There are lots of gay men who did not have dysfunctional childhoods and grew up in families with perfectly normal parents.
I’m not a medical professional. I have no idea what is accepted and what is not. I also have no idea what is junk science and what is not. I do know quite a few homosexual people who would totally disagree with the entire article.

Considering that the church views homosexuality as intrinsically disordered and homosexual acts as gravely sinful, I also know that these folks dismiss Catholic sexual morality out of hand.

I don’t know that there is a way to square Catholic sexual morality with modern day secular understandings of sex and sexuality.
 
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Thorolfr:
But I do think that most professional psychologists would not consider homosexuals more likely than heterosexuals to abuse children or sexually harass adults.
That is the wrong question. Who is more likely to abuse a post pubescent male teenager, who comprise 80% of the victims, a homosexual man or a heterosexual man?
 
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Thorolfr:
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Thorolfr:
But I do think that most professional psychologists would not consider homosexuals more likely than heterosexuals to abuse children or sexually harass adults.
That is the wrong question. Who is more likely to abuse a post pubescent male teenager, who comprise 80% of the victims, a homosexual man or a heterosexual man?
Let’s put it this way, then. A homosexual man would be no more likely to abuse a post pubescent male teenager than what a heterosexual man would be likely to abuse a post pubescent female teenager.
 
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Let’s put it this way, then. A homosexual man would be no more likely to abuse a post pubescent male teenager than what a heterosexual man would be likely to abuse a post pubescent female teenager.
Then a majority solution to the problem would be to insure that the homosexual population in the priesthood was no larger than that found in society. Sounds like a good start.
 
What do they mean by deep seated homosecxual, vs just homosexual?
As the title of the article mentioned above shows, they are trying to make a distinction between what are likely to be long lasting, firmly established and deeply ingrained homosexual tendencies (i.e. “deep-seated homosexual tendencies”) and transitory or fleeting homosexual tendencies which are likely to go away so that a person with these transitory or short lived homosexual tendencies will likely turn out heterosexual. Of course, this again pretends that homosexuality is different from heterosexuality because no one usually assumes that if someone has heterosexual tendencies that these might be transitory and that such a person could later turn homosexual.

If they thought that heterosexuality could also be transitory, they would want to test prospective seminarians for this, too, to make sure that a lot of them who came in as heterosexuals didn’t turn into homosexuals somewhere down the line.
 
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[The heterosexual seminarian] “is sacrificing a good for something better.”
Exactly. And the homosexual seminarian is sacrificing nothing in relation to God’s plan for marriage, family and human sexuality.
I now oppose any and all homosexuals being in seminaries. If homosexuals are “born this way,” as they so often claim, then there is no such thing as a potential priest who is homosexual and does not have a “deep seated inclination.”
 
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“What is your basis that they have more opportunity to abuse male children? I’ve heard the altar server argument but I see mostly girls as alter servers.”

You see girl altar servers now (although my parish still doesn’t allow them). But not during the 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90swhen the vast majority of the abuse cases occurred.
 
Abuse cases go back to the '50s and even before. Even my late mother (born in 1918), when she was young, knew of a priest in her parish which parents would not let their children be alone with.

Those cases though, are lost in the mists of time. But they did happen.

Moreover it wasn’t just priests guilty of abuse. Research St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont or the Magdalen Laundries in Ireland.
 
I had a woman friend who entered a cloistered Carmelite monastery. She said that when a man entered the monastery for whatever legitimate reason, he had to wear a cow bell so his presence would be heard from down the hall.
 
I disagree with their opinion. I believe their opinion is clouded by political correctness and their contempt for Catholic teaching on sexual morality. The numbers are staring them in the face and they choose to ignore the obvious.
 
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Again, this is no a pedophilia problem, so the whole statement is misconstructed. The issue is male priests and post pubescent males either parishinors or seminary students in some cases. I do not expect much from the NY Times.
 
Again, this is no a pedophilia problem, so the whole statement is misconstructed. The issue is male priests and post pubescent males either parishinors or seminary students in some cases. I do not expect much from the NY Times.
It doesn’t make any difference to their point “that sexual abuse results from a complicated combination of factors including church secrecy, the training and sexual development of young priests, and the profound power gap between clergy and young parishioners.” Whether the victims were mostly 8 year olds or 14 year olds does not seem all that important to me. According to the John Jay Report, 47.2% of the victims were 12 and under and 60% were 13 and under. They are still mostly children. Perhaps a 14 year old is considered “pubescent,” but anyone who is attracted to 14 year olds does not have a normal adult sexuality.
 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=

There’s a line from this song that I think hits on a very common theme that I see happening. The line is

“Pain… could you take away the pain?? If I find someone to blame, will it make my life seem easier?”

Man has been blaming others since Adam blamed eve. In his shame, frustration, anger, fear and guilt, he wanted the spotlight on somebody else (eve) It’s happening in the church right now. Everybody is trying to place blame on somebody else.

I support the churches non admittance of men with deeply rooted homosexual tendencies to the priesthood as it could pose a huge temptation and huge occasion of sin for them but blaming this crisis on homosexuals does them a terrible disservice and injustice. It is a lazy solution and a poor Christian witness. Why do we need to scapegoat homosexuals for this? The blame is on sexual criminals, sexual deviants and those in charge who covered it up. Period. Homosexuals are not more inclined to abuse. Look at teachers. More heterosexual abusers there. Do we blame all heterosexual teachers or just the ones who are “sick”?

Let’s not just blame those who we fear, and by doing so, end up adding more victims then there already is in all of this.

And I think I replied to the wrong post because no coffee will do that to you!!
 
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It’s about more than just remaining chaste. Homosexuality comes with a lot of baggage and neurosis, and is rooted in the failure to fully identify with the masculine and the role of father. Priests are spiritual fathers. Homosexuals, though called to sainthood, don’t belong in the seminary. See the article " Why Men Like Me Should Not Be Priests" at First Things magazine.
 
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