The relationship between a Roman Catholic priest and his employer, the Archdiocese in this case, is a uniquely close, all-encompassing one, in which the employer is also the direct spiritual superior of the employee, and between them there can be no secrets."19
Therefore, as per the words of the cardinal himself, all bishops and cardinals have tacit knowledge of all the actions of sexually abusive priests in their employ. Once again, the often repeated words of the hierarchy, "I didn't know!" ring hollower by the moment.
The child abusers only account for a minority of priests. What about the rest of the priests, does deviance bind them to the bishop in the same manner? Yes, but the deviance is not child abuse, it is the deviation from their vows. The bishops know who is philandering with whom and their sexual preferences, which places the majority in the same boat as the minority. Once you compromise yourself each and every deviance has to be accepted. The bishops have to protect everyone including those with the most egregious sexual appetites. The price for this protection is the priest's absolute silence regardless of the shame attached. Appointing a confessor further guarantees the silence under the seal of confession.
The Real Threat of Homosexual Priests to the Church
This also explains why homosexual priests stay in an organization that openly condemns them? What buys their silence? The same 4P's plus the deviant control and the fear of being exposed as a homosexual? How does a good hardworking homosexual priest feel living and working among parishioners who have been conditioned to believe that homosexuality is either an abomination or an aberration? How painful is it for them to read that a bishop has refused communion to supporters of homosexuals with no more cause than an identifying ribbon? How painful is it to know that the opportunistic sex homosexual priests are forced to partake in, because of celibacy, carries greater risks such as a higher incidence of Aids than the general population? This is high price to pay for an attempt at intimacy.
Has anyone wondered why the church is so adamantly opposed to legitimizing homosexual unions through marriage? One very real possibility is that homosexual marriages present a genuine threat to the priesthood and therefore the church itself. Over the past twenty years, homosexuality has integrated into the mainstream. It is shunned by a few, tolerated by some and accepted by most of the general population. Since Vatican II, many heterosexual priests have left the priesthood to get married. They left for the intimacy that was designed into their beings and fulfilled their natural needs.
When homosexual priests realize that they too can live a shameless life with a lifetime partner, a commitment, and intimacy among the general public, the priesthood will lose its appeal as a safe haven for homosexuals. This bears repeating: the priesthood will lose its appeal as a safe haven for homosexual men. When homosexual priests start to leave the priesthood for committed relationships outside the priesthood, they will leave the church in critical condition. Along with that, the number of homosexual men needing refuge in the priesthood will drop too.
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