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Ordination and Same Sex Attraction
Every bishop possesses the sacred duty of discerning the suitability of candidates for holy orders. St. Paul’s advice to Timothy is fitting for all bishops, especially today: “Do not lay hands too readily on anyone” (1 Tim. 5: 22). The church’s life and the way it manifests i
Working With Prisoners: An Interview With Simone Ponnet
Walking up Willis Avenue, one of the more desolate thoroughfares of the South Bronx, I was on my way to interview Simone Ponnet of the Little Sisters of the Gospel, who is the executive director of Abraham House. Abraham House (www.abrahamhouse.org) is a residential program for prisoners assigned th
Books
Sep 30, 2002 issue
Are Things Different Now?
Andrew M. Greeley
When we were in the seminary our economics professor Ed Roche God be good to him told us one day that his classmates were getting old ldquo I say to them when you start complaining about the young guys it rsquo s proof you rsquo re getting old rdquo Ironically his classmates in those days
Books
Sep 30, 2002 issue
Squaring Practice With Belief?
Scott Appleby
By this point in his illustrious career Garry Wills the most celebrated Catholic intellectual in the United States must find it increasingly burdensome to be ldquo Garry Wills rdquo Not only the most celebrated but perhaps the most ubiquitous as well This spiritual autobiography which doub
News
Signs of the Times
Pope Urges World to Address Underlying Causes’ of TerrorismAt a special general audience marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Pope John Paul II said it was necessary and urgent to address the global injustices that created the conditions for
Letters
Letters

Life Experience

For some time now, I have intended to write you to commend you on your excellent writing and articles on the sexual abuse issues in the Catholic Church. The report in Signs of the Times (7/29) about the remarks of Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz prompts me to write.

Current understanding among human development professionals includes the idea that each human person finds herself/himself somewhere on a continuum with regard to sexuality and affectional preference. That is, some people are more inclined to think of members of the opposite gender when they think of someone loving them; others think of persons of the same gender. And some people are emotionally attracted to members of both genders equally.

Bishop Bruskewitz focuses on two elements that I think are not indicated by the life experience of persons of either affectional preference. One element is to equate homosexuality with addiction (note his reference to persons suffering from drug addiction, alcohol dependence and kleptomania). Another troublesome element is his implication that persons who are attracted to persons of the same gender are driven to sexual promiscuity. To turn the tables, one might (erroneously) make the argument that it is not appropriate to ordain heterosexuals because they would likely be at risk of giving in to temptation of having sex with the wives and daughters of parishioners!

As a licensed counselor, I have met no person with a same-gender affectional preference who says that it is right to have sexual relations with children. Most gay people of my acquaintance want what most people want from a relationship: a special, monogamous relationship with the ability to love and be loved. And that does not always include genital sexual expression! Many persons of the gay affectional preference have been so rejected by their culture and/or family members that they certainly do not put themselves in the position to be rejected again. In sum, they are not pedophiles, nor are they sexual predators, in my experience.

One priest wrote in another publication, I believe God asks of homosexual relationships exactly what God asks of heterosexual relationships: truth, faithfulness, longsuffering, and the continuing forgiveness of the other. He then quotes Gal. 5:23: Against these there is no law.

We can all learn from one another. Your articles on this topic reflect good writing and pastoral sensitivity.

Louis Lowrey

Editorials
The Innocence Protection Act
Even death penalty proponents do not want to see innocent people executed. In recent times, though, a number of prisoners have come within minutes of a walk to the death chamber before being exonerated of a capital crime. In Illinois alone, 13 men on death row were freed within the past two decades.
Starting the First San Miguel Middle School
“Recovering the founder’s charism”—this is how Lawrence Goyette, F.S.C., described the impulse that led to the opening of the first-ever San Miguel School—a middle school that began almost a decade ago in Providence, R.I. During a visit in June, Bro. Lawrence explained
Forgive and Forget?
On the way home from a hospital stay several years ago, my husband and I stopped at a toy store to buy presents for our two sons. I did not want to arrive home empty-handed because I wasn’t sure of the reception I would receive. I don’t remember what we bought the boys, but I do remember
News
Signs of the Times
New Los Angeles Cathedral DedicatedNearly five years after its ground was blessed, and with thousands of people gathered in celebration in its plaza, the world’s newest cathedral church was opened and dedicated on Sept. 2 in downtown Los Angeles. “My friends, welcome to the city’s,