Dear Big Nana,

Thanks so much for the book reference.
It's on my "to-read" list.

Undoubtedly it will evoke outrage - from the
description. Especially I imagine from the
luxury in which they live and their excesses.

I wonder though whether the book does equate
being gay with child molestation? I guess
I won't know until I've read it.
I also wonder what percentage of the priests
who are gay, are sexually active?

A system founded on secrecy, founded on a clerical
culture of secrecy which starts in junior seminaries
and continues right up to the Vatican itself - should
not surprise any of us at what gets hidden. Although
for many of us it will probably be hard to understand.

Behind rigidity there's always something hidden, in many
cases a double life. However the resulting schizophrenia
in the Church will be hard to understand. Especially the
extreme homophobia.

Again - Thank You for the reference.

Frederic Martel the author himself is openly gay
and he's written a few books on the subject. He
seems to sensationalise gayness by now devoting
his inquiry to Catholic officials.

One has to ask - what is his intent?

Dear Big Nana,

Rather topical I thought.

“The Wall Street Journal revealed Morrison had wanted the Hillsong Church pastor Brian Houston to be a guest at the glittering black-tie function, which included special guests Lachlan Murdoch – but not his father, Rupert – the billionaire box magnate Anthony Pratt, miners Twiggy Forrest and Gina Rinehart, and the golfer Greg Norman.

But, according to the Journal, the White House declined Morrison’s request.

Houston, the founder of the evangelical Hillsong Church, failed to alert the police about allegations his father, Frank, had sexually assaulted children, and had a conflict of interest when he assumed responsibility for dealing with the accusations, according to the findings of the 2014 royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Frank Houston abused up to nine boys in Australia and New Zealand and, in its final report, the royal commission found multiple failings within the church executive – at the time led by Brian – in responding.”

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/21/morrison-toasts-unconventional-trump-but-hillsong-pastor-reportedly-rejected-from-guest-list?CMP=soc_567

So what in your opinion was Frank Huston?

“During Houston's tenure as lead of Assemblies of God in New Zealand from 1965 to 1977, he allegedly abused as many as nine young boys in New Zealand and Australia. One victim in Sydney was routinely subjected to sexual abuse from the age of seven to 12. In 1999, his mother reported the abuse to the church ... By November 2000, internal church investigations had discovered several additional cases of child abuse. Although Brian Houston and the Assemblies of God executive council were legally obligated to report the crimes, they did not do so.  Frank Houston made a payment of AU$10,000 to his victim. In August 2007, further allegations emerged that Houston had sexually abused a trainee pastor during counselling sessions in the early 1980s.”
Wikipedia

Keeping in mind of course that he had fathered 5 children and remained married to his wife until their deaths in their 80s.

Dear Steele,

Some aspects of human sexuality are still imperfectly
researched, partly because continuing social
inhibitions have hindered the accumulation of the
necessary information. However, researchers in
several disciplines now recognise that human sexual
behaviour is highly flexible so much so that we can
attach our erotic desires to almost anything -
human beings, animals, inanimate objects, such as
shoes or underwear, or even the experience of pain
and humiliation.

The fact that our sex drive is so flexible is, of course,
the reason every society goes to such lengths to regulate
it.

There are many cases of people who were forced to conform
initially to society's control - resisting their
sexual urges at first - Oscar Wilde comes to mind - who
married a woman and had children. Elton John - whose marriage
did not last long. More recently - our own Dr Phelps -
who married a man - and had children - and is now in a
lesbian relationship. And the list goes on.

SR. The fact that man sexually abused an adult male as well as boys, whilst married shows, as Foxy says, someone who will apparently have sex with anyone. Certainly there are men who will have sex with animals, dead bodies, inanimate objects etc.
There are some very sick and sad people in this world and I always wonder what happened to them in their childhood to make them behave this way.
As for women who claim to be lesbian, as Foxy pointed out, many have had heterosexual relations, as have many gay men, which just proves that most gay people are in fact bisexual.

Dear Big Nana,

My post was in response to your;

"I cannot imagine any heterosexual man being interested in a 17 year old boy, can you?"

No, but then I don't have a position of power within a Christian church and loudly proclaiming I have a message from God.

I think there is an issue with how that power corrupts and also how the most sinful or forbidden becomes the most titillating.

Yet you seem to give any of these nuances scant regard instead insisting on a black and white view of sexuality which I find problematic given the evidence.