"God is not an obligation or a burden. God is my joy!" -- Fr. Mychal Judge
Damian Thompson posted a controversial blog yesterday about a new Vatican document encouraging "psychological tests" to screen out potential priests with a "deep-seated homosexual orientation". I think this is an over-reaction to the abuse crisis in the States. Some very good people could be screened out. Grace is an incredible thing. A man with same-sex attraction could still be very graced by God with the virtue of chastity and could live out his vocation as a Priest with great passion and love for God. If all candidates with "psychological" failings or flaws were screened out of the Priesthood there'd be none left. Jesus takes weak, frail human beings, with moral weaknesses and makes them into Saints. Were that not so, St Peter, who denied our Lord three times would not be up there waiting for us at the Gates of Heaven when we die.
Here is a link to a good blog on the life of Fr Mychal Judge. Above is a picture of Father Mychal Judge, who died giving the Last Rites to the dying in the World Trade Centre in 2001. His case for beatification was dropped rather unfortunately once the Church heard that some people said his orientation was homosexual. As far as I know, the patron saint of homosexuals or those who have the condition of homosexuality is St Sebastian, not because he overcame a same-sex attraction with a life of heroic virtue, but because of his martyrdom by many arrows.
Read the blog article here and let me know your thoughts. For the original source article click here.
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