CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A top Jesuit official has been contacting leaders of the Roman Catholic Church to protest a soon-to-be-released Vatican document that is expected to reinforce the teaching that gays are not welcome in the priesthood. The Reverend Gerald Chojnacki, head of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, said in a letter to his priests that he was asking bishops to tell Vatican officials who are drafting the policy "of the great harm this will cause many good priests and the Catholic faithful."
Chojnacki wrote in the letter, dated Monday, that he had participated in the funerals of several gay Jesuit clergy over the last few years. "I find it insulting to demean their memory and their years of service by even hinting that they were unfit for priesthood because of their sexual orientation," he wrote. Chojnacki said he would be working with the Conference of Major Superiors, which represents leaders of religious orders in the United States, including the Jesuits, Franciscans, and others, and with bishops to fight "for the opportunity of a gay person to say yes to God's call in celibate service of priesthood and chaste religious life."
A priest who supports the protest provided the letter to the Associated Press. A spokesman for the New York province did not respond to a request for comment Friday. A Vatican official said last week that the upcoming "instruction" from the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education will reaffirm the church's belief that gay men should not be ordained.
In recent decades Vatican officials have stated several times that gays should not become priests because their sexual orientation is "intrinsically disordered" and makes them unsuitable for ministry. A Vatican-directed evaluation of all 229 U.S. seminaries is under way and is looking for "evidence of homosexuality" in the schools, among other things, such as whether their instruction keeps with church teaching. The evaluation was organized in response to the clergy sex abuse crisis.
Priests in religious orders throughout the United States said in interviews that anger is building among their members about the prospect of a ban on gay seminarians. Some have said clergy are considering staging a strike on a Sunday to show how critical gay priests are to the church. Priests who had not disclosed their sexual orientation to parishioners are now thinking about coming out and denouncing the idea of a ban. Others have talked about signing their names to a protest letter to the Vatican.
Estimates of the proportion of gays in the priesthood vary from 25% to 50%. About one third of the 42,500 U.S. priests are members of religious orders. (AP)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
30 Steamy Photos of Folsom Street Fair 2023 Debauchery
October 15 2023 11:06 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Lesbians have more orgasms than straight women — and yes, it's men's fault
April 11 2024 9:37 AM
White House announces new rules on background checks for firearms sales in America
April 11 2024 5:00 AM
'Florida has a First Amendment problem' — judge rules trans teacher can use 'Ms.'
April 10 2024 6:33 PM
Here's why soccer fans are booing USWNT player Korbin Albert
April 10 2024 6:26 PM
Trans and nonbinary migrants file complaint over treatment at ICE detention facility
April 10 2024 6:00 PM
X likely profited from promoted post calling for LGBTQ+ death penalty
April 10 2024 3:11 PM
Giselle Byrd is taking center stage — and helping others do the same
April 10 2024 2:15 PM
How Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter advances equality
April 10 2024 1:39 PM