Save Us from Gay Epileptic Priests?

The expected gay ban in the Catholic Church has "set off a wave of anger and sadness" within the ranks of many in the ministry, according to this article in the NYT, Gay Men Ponder Impact of Proposal by Vatican.

The story analyzes the impact of the ban on the Church by a number of priests, including one gay priest who made a comparison to being treated like Jews in Berlin in the '30s. Another mentioned a concern that this policy could cause a "Witch Hunt" within the clergy.

Without a doubt, however, the best contribution was from "[t]he Rev. John Trigilio Jr., president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a conservative 400-member group based in Harrisburg, Pa., [who] said that barring gay men from seminaries was 'for their own good,' just as the church once barred epileptics from the priesthood. 'It's pretty much the same thing,' Father Trigilio said. 'The work and the ministry of the priesthood is going to be too demanding and will put a strain on them. He's going to have to spend five to eight years in a seminary where he's only going to be with men.'" (Emphasis added).

No, this is not a transcript from last night's Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It is a quote from Fr. Trigilio, an Opus Dei member, who is also the author of "Catholicism for Dummies."

Of course, you'd have to be a dummy to be his kind of Catholic, so I'm not sure you'd need to bother with the book. Oops, I also guess his book overlooked the fact that Pious IX should have been banned from the Church too, since he was an epileptic. Dummies don't need those details.

The Washington Note also gives a good overview of the hypocrisy of this bigoted policy. Blogger Steven Clemons describes his recent discussions with a Vatican insider, who estimated that 50% of cardinals and senior Church officials were gay. "When I asked whether homosexuals would be better served under Pope Benedict XVI than under John Paul II, he responded, 'Don't think that we will be any better served under a gay pope than a straight one.'"

The Note recommends "outing" Cardinals who encourage the gay ban. Um, wonder if that includes Popes? Let this Witch Hunt begin.

Waves of anger and sadness. Sort of sums up my sentiments towards today's church and Christianity in general. As a commenter to The Note noted, "Christianity has nothing to do with Christ and probably never has, unless Christ was a close-minded, misogynistic, war-loving, imperialistic, aggressive hater of anything he didn't understand or agree with." And no, he wasn't referring to George Bush. Just George's god.