Ephebophilia -- What the Popular Media Are Hiding

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It should come as no surprise to people who still believe in objective truth that the popular media are not reporting to us the accurate story involving the scandal that has erupted. While there have been priests who have committed acts of pedophilia--sexual activity involving prepubescent children, by far, most of the cases that have come to light involve ephebophilia--sexual activity with adolescents, which at the same time happens to be homosexual in orientation. Certainly this does not mitigate those crimes, but it is instructive.

The "alphabet channels"--who support the agendas of gay-activists--almost never report sexual crimes committed by homosexuals (and almost as rarely do they report anything positive about the Catholic Church.) And it just so happens that 'pedophilia,' which conjurs up images of dirty-old-men and five-year-old girls, is not only much more inflammatory, but casts a shadow over the true nature of the problem as well. The Church gets broadsided, and the gay-mafia gets a pass.

Ironically, if groups like NAMBLA had their way, most of the priests involved wouldn't be criminals--and the media would probably ignore them as if they merely had girlfriends. Incidentally, a book has just been published, *Good Men, Goodbye*, which exposes the root of the problem: a gay-network that has developed in a number of seminaries. Not surprisingly, I haven't seen the author being interviewed on television.

The Church opens her arms to saints and sinners both. But just as we must embrace those who bear the cross of homosexual *temptation*, we must call homosexual *activity* what it is. Pray for the Church and her priests.

KB

-- Ken Brady (kbinboise@yahoo.com), April 02, 2002

Answers

Thank you, Ken.
Unfortunately you are correct. As I have been saying here for a couple of weeks, some (perhaps many) seminaries need to undergo a thorough reform or shutdown.

A friend recently sent me an article from a New York newspaper (not the "Slimes"), which is related to your message. Here are some excerpts:

------------------- QUOTE ... March 24, 2002 -- A Connecticut priest has claimed a network of gay-leaning bullies exists in some Catholic seminaries, where straight students are ostracized for advocating traditional teaching. The Rev. Andrew Walter was tossed out of Baltimore's St. Mary's Seminary five years ago after a psychological evaluation at a church-approved treatment center concluded he was "homophobic" and had a "histrionic personality disorder."

Walter, 37, rejects the assessment and points out he was later accepted by another seminary where he completed his studies. He was ordained by Edward Cardinal Egan in the Bridgeport diocese before Egan moved to New York. Walter claims his traditional views led to lower grades and other forms of harassment, although he was supposed to be in a "celibate" environment. "I know for a fact guys were protected," Walter said. "Activities and agendas on the part of homosexual guys were protected."

In another case, a former seminary student from New Jersey has launched a sexual-harassment lawsuit against the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. Christopher McKelvey, 39, said persistent lewd comments and homosexual propositions forced him to abandon his dream of becoming a priest. "When seminary instruction is sexualized, there is a defect in the system," said McKelvey's lawyer, Stephen Rubino. "What we see today is the church having to confront the problem." The experiences of Walter and McKelvey are similar to those outlined in an upcoming book, "Goodbye! Good Men," which claims a "gay subculture" exists at various seminaries across the nation, including at least one in New York. The book's author, Michael S. Rose, suggests heterosexual men are driven away or forced out from the clergy by the gay network. "There are priests who are in the know about what's going on," Rose said. ...

Walter and Rose, along with other priests ..., are adamant there is a connection between the unchecked seminary behavior and the national sex scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church. "I think they're very deeply connected. They're hand in hand with each other," said Walter, who finished his studies at St. Joseph's Seminary in Rye before being ordained by Egan two years ago. Walter, who has high praise for Egan, said the culture at St. Joseph's was the exact opposite of his Baltimore experience. St. Joseph's rector, Monsignor Peter Finn, said students there are saddened by the events, but strong in their resolve to pursue the priesthood. "Morale is high in the sense of commitment," Finn said. "They understand that it is a small percentage of those affected."

Among the institutions Rose singles out in his book is the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, L.I. Workers there remained tight-lipped about the scandal...
[L. Greene and J. Lehmann] ------------------- END QUOTE

God bless you.
John

-- J. F Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 03, 2002.


John,
I think I called William F. Buckley's column to your attention some week or two ago. He also referred to these priest's reports and the Michael S. Rose book, while deploring the lack of attention they had got from the news media.

In fact, one of the more pointed remarks Buckley made was the media's reluctance in almost all instances to even use the term homosexuality at all; as the Boston Globe scandal was raging. It's a cover-up for the homosexual lobby; and peophilia is all the media will ever attack. Yes-- a few pederasts attacking young teenagers is spun out as child-abuse. When will they learn?

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), April 03, 2002.


Hi John and Eugene,

What I have just read here has been in the back of my mind for some time now since the "scandal".

Do you think it is a possibility that these "homosexual" priests enter the priesthood thinking it might alleviate their homosexual tendencies?

-- Kathy (Curious@aol.com), April 03, 2002.


Kathy,
John and I have seen it from opposite sides recently. I think a homosexual can have a truly spiritual love for God. If he is saintly there should be no cause to bar him from holy orders. Again, it's a question of investigating his vocation from precisely that angle. If he just wants to stay in the closet by pretending to hear a call, he would be guilty of fraud against God and His Church. It may be that quite a number have been just this false. But I'm sure there are good and pure homosexuals in the priesthood. I would never just demonize their orientation. A man's sex drive can be sublimated to God's holy ministry by a homosexual just as well as by a heterosexual. That's simply my private opinion. Only God truly knows, of course.

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), April 03, 2002.

Hi Eugene,

Thanks for your response, and I agree with you. The reason I wonder about the question I posed, is that I believe homosexuality is not a choice one makes about his sexuality. Moreover, it is socially unacceptable, they do not have the same rights/choices (in most states) as heterosexuals, and to have homosexual relations is immoral. My thought is that by joining a priesthood and vowing to celibacy will help him abstain from homosexual relations. Therefore not living in sin. If there is any truth to what I have just said, obviously some have failed at this, but I am quite sure there are homosexual priests out there who have remained celibate and continue to live a life with moral decency. Just MHO.

God Bless,

-- Kathy (Curious@aol.com), April 03, 2002.



The Pope recently said that it is inappropriate for Homosexuals to enter the priesthood.

-- John R (me@withheld.com), April 04, 2002.

I would not presume to second guess the Pope. But, I have an idea of what context he places the opinion into. It is almost certain that during these 2,000 years of the Church's history, at least a few saints were not heterosexual. By this I mean, they had no sexual preference at all, and in the world would have been judged homosexual. Just by definition, there can be no homosexuality without unchaste contact. I have to think a man who has no attraction to women is capable with God's help of resisting an attraction to his own sex as well.

With God's grace, we can be sure all things are possible. Every soul is a vessel for God's grace, if he/she be receptive and desire His love only. I guess my insights are weak. I'm no psychologist.

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), April 04, 2002.


I can't believe this, if this were any other forum, people will be crying child molester by now.

-- Tony (awalker@teknett.com), April 16, 2002.

Poor Child
You seem like an innocent enough child. Stupidity is strange, even in children.



-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), April 16, 2002.


Thank God my own seminary wasn't mentioned in that article. Here, there are roughly 85 students, most of whom I know pretty well. In my first year here, I've not heard of any homosexual-related misbehavior, including harrassment, propositioning, accusations, discrimination, or any sexual activity. There were a couple of isolated incidents in the past decade that have become campus folklore though.

No students here openly admit to homosexuality, although there are a couple isolated strong lisps. If it is ever discussed, it is done so in a mature environment of discussion relating to priestly formation.

Nonetheless, I've heard a startling statistic--roughly 70%, based on an anonymous survey of this campus. But honestly, I have no idea where that number really came from; it could be a decade old, or totally fabricated.

From my own experiences I'm surprised by much of what I've read in this thread. Thank God I go to a school where the Catechism is valued as the authentic teaching of the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church. It's not perfect, but if half the stuff I've read here is true, then my own school is truly blessed by God.

Please pray for me and my brothers, and also for American seminaries.

-- Jeffrey Zimmerman (jeffreyz@seminarianthoughts.com), April 16, 2002.



You have my promise of prayers, Jeffrey. I hope that all your fellow students are zealous and orthodox Catholics, normal men as you are.
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 17, 2002.

I read your posts with gratitude. I googled in while doing informal research. I post on a religious bulletin board, predominantly UK, predominantly Anglican, and was ordered to apologize for comparing homosexuality to several forbidden intimacies, including pedophilia. The others on the list were adultery and prostitution. I don't imagine you would find the rage I encountered surprizing. (Ship-of- fools.com, BTW; otherwise a lively and interesting site.)

That I have worked with sex offenders and paraphiliacs at a public psychiatric hospital for over two decades gave me no standing or cover. As automatic as in a Boolean search engine "homosexuality" near "pedophilia" = demand apology. I am familiar with this inchoate rage at work, and the things one must not say, even if true, but I had hoped for better on a Christian board.

I had argued for years that the sexualized youth culture was as strong in the heterosexual community -- I believed what I had been told to. It was my gay patients who kept insisting otherwise, and I eventually learned to believe them. It is all very sad, and I don't know where to go with this at the moment. I am just grateful for what I read here. I think the day will come when the truth will be our only ally in this matter. Perhaps it is always our only ally, but we seldom are driven to realize it.

-- David Wyman (wymanhome@comcast.net), November 12, 2003.


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