The Elephant in the Church

By Fr. Charles Dahlby

As a Catholic priest I have an investment in issues that affect the Church and the people of God and as a Christian I have an obligation to speak out. So let me make the following points as clearly as I can:

1. Most of the scandals and evils we see in the Church today are brought about primarily by homosexuality. Homosexuality is an objective moral disorder and unacceptable in the priesthood! For nearly two thousand years the teaching of the scripture, the magisterium, and Tradition, the three sources of revelation which give us truth, have all agreed. on homosexuality as an “abomination”! Only recently have Phil and Oprah and a few TV sitcoms disagreed. But God doesn’t change and Phil and Oprah won’t be on the throne to judge us!

2. Even though Church documents forbid the acceptance of homosexuals into the seminary and their ordination to the priesthood, those in authority have for years looked the other way, (Don’t ask, don’t tell) and homosexuals have flocked into the Church. Now they have positions of authority! They use this authority to protect and promote one another creating a distinct sub-culture that is rapidly becoming dominant. This sub-culture is the ideal homosexual environment. As a priest no one questions why you aren’t married. You get respect that you never earned. You have a target-rich environment, especially if you have a school, and if you slip up and get caught the civil authorities will not want to prosecute you because you’re a priest and, as we have seen, the Church will cover you, defend you, and may set you up in another parish or even another diocese so you can continue to prey on God’s people. A homosexual predator could not hope to find a more friendly and supportive environment than priesthood in the American Catholic Church!

3. The phrase “An elephant in the room” is used in group dynamics to mean that there is an issue of great importance that is being carefully avoided. The fact that the leadership of the Church so obviously refuses to deal honestly with homosexuality in its midst is a proof of its very powerful presence and authority. The effort expended on avoiding the obvious truth is evidence that gross ignorance cannot explain this blindness, only a conscious and premeditated effort to avoid what is so clear! Because it is done with awareness, it crosses the line from human weakness to genuine malignant evil!
. . .

I found the following excerpt worrisome:

For example, right now there is a young man in the seminary in St. Louis who will be ordained a priest soon. His picture and his story were front page news in the “Illinois Times,” He was the president of a gay and lesbian organization in Springfield, Illinois. Current Church teaching is that he should not have been admitted to the seminary and should not be ordained. His religious superior and the appropriate bishops are well aware of his orientation yet in complete contradiction to Church directives from Rome he continues and those who objected were labeled by his superior as “whiners”! (The Rev. Charles Bouchard, president of the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis said: "I think straight priests and seminarians shouldn’t be whining. I just don’t think it’s a big deal.") The few priests foolish enough to speak openly about the scandal of homosexuality in the priesthood have soon learned that they will receive no help or support from anyone. The people don’t want to believe it. The newspapers won’t print it. The district attorney won’t prosecute. After all, his is an elected position, and the only thing more pointless than writing to the bishop is writing to “Rome”! Only in the area of pedophilia have we been able to enlist the aid of lawyers and multi-million dollar lawsuits to help keep some children a little safer. Only when they got hit in the purse did these bishops have a sudden attack of morality. (Emphasis mine-LRS)

So, if anyone is interested.... The elephant in the room is - HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS/BISHOPS The solution is - GET THEM OUT!
###
Fr. Charles Dahlby, Pastor of St. Rita Church, Kincaid, IL and Pastor of St. Mary Church, Pawnee IL, Diocese of Springfield, IL

Born and raised a Mormon, became a Baptist, and then became a Catholic. Fr. Dahlby has been a priest for 27 years.

Complete article.