I think there ought to be a moratorium on admitting homosexual men to Holy Orders.
What about religious life? I don't know. In the past, men with homosexual inclination have entered religious orders more or less in good faith, sincere faith, and they were accepted in good faith. Somehow, a few religious orders became something of a refuge for gay men. Not a few of these were ordained and left for greener pastures, getting themselves incardinated as secular priests in metropolitan dioceses, some even formed their own religious groups, or apostolates, others found 'jobs' teaching, or found assignments in chanceries, as well as jobs in the private sector, while remaining priests, keeping their own house. Most claimed to support Catholic teaching on sexuality. Those who became vocation directors or superiors of their orders, made exceptions for the men they discerned fit for religious life, despite the fact Rome counseled against admitting men with homosexual inclination.
The SSA superiors may have recognized, with the Church, that the orientation is objectively disordered, but otherwise, gay/SSA is just another variant in human sexuality. There is a consensus amongst them that it is simply a way of being - it is ontological - therefore it forms the basis of one's identity. It doesn't matter how one got to be gay - one just is. Likewise, they identify with the men they accept and approve, and find a means of support in their unique reform of religious life.
Unsubstantiated claims you say? Not at all. There is literature and studies to back up my assertion. That is not my point here however - I simply want to remind people of how and why these things keep happening. As well as the inconvenient, contradictory message this sends to the world: A Church condemns homosexual behavior and same sex marriage, refuses employment to SSA persons who live together, yet her ministers ordain homosexual men, permitting them to work in formation for seminarians and or religious life, approving religious foundations, and so on. It makes no sense.
I'm so tired of this subject, and I really don't have any more to add to what I've already said so many times in the past regarding gay priests. Homosexual, SSA, gay, ex-gay - whatever term you want to use is fine with me. They are here and they are queer... and some act out.
Here's a little bit of history on Wert.
Current story:
Background:William C. Wert, now 56, had a recurring sexual relationship with a 14-year-old Nokomis boy in which the two exchanged explicit text messages that became key pieces of evidence for the prosecution.“What was interesting of course was that we had the text message back-and-forth which showed kind of the context of the relationship,” said Assistant State Attorney Dawn Buff, who prosecuted the case before Circuit Court Judge Frederick Mercurio.“You see how he's wooing him and how he's engaging this child in a relationship.”Wert had been in jail without bail since his arrest in February 2011 and will face a minimum sentence of 37 years in prison with a maximum of life in prison.Wert lived in a Carmelite Catholic Order property in Venice, but his affiliation with the church was kept from jurors, whose deliberation ended Friday afternoon after a four-day trial.The family of the victim sued the Order of the Carmelites, claiming the Catholic order was aware of Father Wert's past conviction for touching a 14-year-old boy on the inner thigh, but still allowed him to move to the Carmelites' home in Venice. - News source
William C. Wert made his Solemn Profession in the Roman Catholic Order of Carmelites in 1980 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1986. In 2004, Fr. Wert was named Prior of Whitefriars Hall in Washington DC, which is a house of formation for the Carmelites.
In this position as the Director of Formation, he oversaw all the levels of
formation for the Carmelite students. He continued in his role as coordinator for the
Province's vocation team. Wert belonged to the Province of the Most Pure Heart of
Mary, Roman Catholic Order of Carmelites. The headquarters are located in Darien
Illinois. Carmelites from this province serve in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois,
Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Canada, Mexico, and Peru.
Wert was charged in 1997 with the sexual abuse of a 14-year old boy in Washington DC.
In September 2007, he was convicted of simple assault and sentenced to 180 days in jail
and 5 years probation. In February 2011, eight additional charges of lewd and lascivious
conduct as well as committing a sex offense on a young boy between the ages of 12 and
15 years old. - Finish reading here.
William C. Wert, a 53-year old Catholic priest and a member of the Order of Carmelites, may have abused more children in the Venice area, according to law enforcement officials. Police found evidence onhis computer that other children may have been victimized by the priest.Wert already faces eight charges ranging from lewd and lascivious on a child to committing a sex offense against a minor.
Wert was convicted of sexual abuse on a minor in Washington DC in 2007. According to the Carmelites, Wert was living in a Carmelite retirement home in Venice, just blocks away from Venice's Epiphany Cathedral at the time ofhis arrest. While Fr. John Welch, the Carmelite supervisor in charge of Wert stated thathe was living at the retirement home because it had "no proximity" to children, Ephiphany Cathedral School is a mere four blocks away from Wert's residence. - Source
My comments. Oddly enough Wert was busted around the time the Corapi story broke - no relationship of course, but it was a hard blow, nonetheless. Additionally, another priest was arrested in Wert's diocese for indecent conduct:
First, there was the arrest of Carmelite priest Rev. William Wert for committing a sex offense against a minor.More charges against Wert were filed as we learned that Wert had been in trouble for similar sex abuse issues while stationed in Washington DC. Next, a Polish priest incardinated in the Diocese of Venice was arrested in a Sarasota park for exposinghis genitals to an undercover officer as well as grabbing the officer's genitals. - ibid
Wert's taking advantage of a 14 year old boy is shameful. The homosexual goal is to remove that aspect from the 'orientation' as well as the acts. That's just as disordered. Gay/SSA priests and religious are enablers, and they often provide safe haven for their offender brothers.
Instruction from the Holy See:
Deep-seated homosexual tendencies, which are found in a number of men and women, are also objectively disordered and, for those same people, often constitute a trial. Such persons must be accepted with respect and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. They are called to fulfil God's will in their lives and to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter[8].
In the light of such teaching, this Dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question[9], cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called "gay culture"[10].
Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women. One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies.
Different, however, would be the case in which one were dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem - for example, that of an adolescence not yet superseded. Nevertheless, such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate. - Holy See
