I myself have struggled with SSA since the age of thirteen or so(I am now fifty-five), and I can tell you that the vast majority of men I have met in my same situation are moral, upstanding, contributing members of society. The militant and promiscuous element that gets so much exposure in the mainstream media is only the tip of the iceberg. Most of us live quiet and, dare I say, humble lives, trying our best to do the right thing and keep our heads above water in this increasingly frightening world. We do not speak in exaggeratedly feminine tones, wear gaudy clothing and bizarre makeup, and nor do we gesticulate in a wildly theatrical manner, as some here have insinuated. The few people to whom I have revealed my inclinations have all expressed surprise: they had no idea I was ‘that way’. Neither am I and many of my fellow SSA-afflicted brethren trying to push some kind of agenda whereby people would be forced to approve what they condescendingly refer to as our ‘lifestyle’, as if the mysterious and all-encompassing field of romantic and affectional experience could be reduced to a mere lifestyle. We merely want what we, as citizens of the USA, are guaranteed in the documents of the founding fathers: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As far as homosexual clergy, I agree with the Holy Father in Rome that it is inappropriate for SSA-afflicted persons to be ordained to the priesthood. Much as we might like to think so, we are NOT the same as heterosexual persons, as if it were a mere difference in whom we loved. Homosexual persons have a whole baggage of emotional and spiritual wounds that have been inflicted upon them through their life experience, wounds that are directly traceable to their having been marginalised and ostracised from society. These wounds leave us prone to ‘acting out’ upon what we see as unjust treatment. This is not the proper emotional nor spiritual context for a priest to be caring for his flock from. I have no answer to the problem of currently-serving homosexual priests. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I am sorry if I have left an impression of rancor or self -aggrandizement, as such was the furthest intent from my mind.
