In the strongest
internal opposition yet to the Catholic Church's
official stance on homosexuality, 19 Canadian priests
publicly criticized the Vatican's new ban on gay
clergy. In an open letter published in the Montreal
newspaper La Presse this weekend, the priests
also condemned the church's view that being gay is a
"disorder" and requested a new dialogue on the issue among
clergy in Quebec, reports The Gazette of Montreal.
"There is no reason for the ban on homosexual
men from entering the priesthood," Raymond Gravel, a
priest from Joliette who signed the letter, told
The Gazette. He said that the Vatican's
invocation of "natural law" to support its antigay
position is not legitimate because the church has been wrong
on issues related to "the mysteries of life" before,
as it is now.
The priest added that the church is contributing
to homophobia with its views and that he and his
fellow signatories could no longer stay silent about it.
The letter comes in response not only to the
Vatican's recent directive that forbids gay men from
serving as priests but also to the Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops's recently announced opposition to
same-sex marriage. Neither the Vatican nor the conference
has commented on the letter. (Advocate.com)
