Dear Yabby,

Now that's not fair.

Catholicism has remarkable staying power,
an ability to survive unmatched by any
contemporary institution. If you've been
around for 2000 years you will have learned
a few tricks.

This doesn't mean of course that the church will
be perfect of that parts of it won't wither and
die, or that it won't make mistakes.

The church will require genuine leadership and
a willingness to confront both the difficulties and
opportunities that the church faces.

And my hope - is that it will be able to do precisely
that.

BAYGON, there’s something much more fundamental at play than having a good excuse to put on a frock: the need for personal safety. In order to understand how this works, you need to get inside the head of a kid growing up catholic and gay. For this kid, the world sends daily reminders that he (or she) is a disgusting, sinful creature. Worse, he’s alone, unable to discuss his feelings with anyone else. This isolation makes it even more terrifying, forcing the conclusion that life ahead will be lonely and miserable.

Then along comes one of the church’s recruiters, with a vision of a useful and GOOD life. If the kid can just push aside his sexual desires, he can earn the respect of his family and peers, and spend his life doing good things for god and humanity.

When the most oblique references to homosexuality are met by everyone around you with open hostility, when you’ve been fed the lie that your sexuality has made you disgusting, when at fourteen, fifteen, sixteen years old you’re convinced that you’re alone in your condition, then a religious vocation seems like a miraculous rescue from a tormented future.

Those damned recruiters used to show up precisely when you were feeling most vulnerable and alone, and they were very persistent. (Fortunately the world has changed since I lived out this scenario in the early seventies. Growing up gay is still scary, but in quite different ways to how it was then.)

Continued

From previous

Regardless of their motive for joining up in the first place, I think that most individuals who take on a religious vocation live honourable and worthy lives, and whatever their orientation, they manage keep to the bargain they’ve made with their sexuality. I would guess that many even forget the painful years of wondering about their sexual orientation (resulting in a lack of signposts, as Pericles speculates). This might be regarded as a major imperfection by many, but ultimately, who is without imperfections? In my experience most priests, nuns and religious brothers are indeed good, respectable and well-meaning people.

Quattrocchi's book has certainly prompted a lot of interesting reviews. The LRB one http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n16/colm-toibin/among-the-flutterers shows great insight, and like Seccombe’s review, Andrew Sullivan's http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/08/the-pope-is-not-gay.html also brings good humour to the topic.

This wave of insightful comment has continued into the current discussion. We seem to have found a peaceful, thoughtful corner of OLO.

There's a lot of wisdom and compassion in (most of) these posts, and it’s greatly appreciated.

Most people will tell you "Brokeback Mountain" was a movie "about gay cowboys". Yet, whilst this is superficially true the full message is far more powerful.

It speaks of the consequences of denying one's true nature. Heath Ledger's character, Ennis Del Mar, compartmentalised his love for other's in an attempt to rationalise his bisexuality.

Ultimately he destroyed all losing his family and his lover, Jack Twist, only facing reality years later. Alone. A shadow of what his potential offered.

One must strive to not see The Holy See as a veritable factory buoying the ruination of so many lives by condoning self-denial. It is engaged in the promotion of low self esteem, anxiety, self loathing, discrimination, suicide and social division.

Yet, the default walk on respect afforded them and middle ages superstition persists. I wonder how we'd react if Allied Generals in Afghanistan planned troop deployment and battle strategy based upon the spilling of chicken entrails?

*For this kid, the world sends daily reminders that he (or she) is a disgusting, sinful creature.*

That is the core of the problem. The Catholic Church creates it
in the first place, by brainwashing little kids.

Woulfe I attended a seminary for two years. I ultimately left when the full implications of a celibate life sunk in - in my case it was women that swung the balance. Subsequently I have become aware that some stayed on because women were not an attraction and making a commitment to celibacy seemed the best way to deal with one's sexuality.
However, by no means all who stayed were closet gays but one would expect that the proportion of gay priests would be higher within the church then the general community simply because sexuality is not just about sex. If you are gay then I would imagine it is easier to live a fulfilling celibate life in the company of other males.
In the main I would argue that the vast majority of clergy are caring compassionate people the current crusade to vilify all clergy because of the evil committed by some is simply te manifestation of yet more blind prejudice.