The Boston Globe has an article explaining the Pope’s latest stance on why homosexuals should not be allowed to become priests, even if they are celibate. Why? Because people with same-sex attractions are pedophiles.

The church is looking into the question of homosexuality because some church officials believe there is a link between a high number of gay men in the priesthood and a high incidence of sexual abuse. But specialists say there is no evidence for such a link.

”There is no evidence that a male homosexual is any more risk to a boy than a male heterosexual is to a girl, and one of the problems within the church is that they are confusing the issue of homosexuality with the issues of child abuse and pedophilia,” said Dr. Fred S. Berlin, an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The Pope has launched this investigation as a belated response to the child abuse scandals the church suffered, but has conveniently decided to blame the whole affair on homosexuals rather than fix the cover-ups and manipulations of the clergy. Since the Roman Catholic church does not advocate reparative therapy, but relies entirely on celibacy, this new development constitutes nothing less than educational and employment discrimination. The investigation also has the tantalizing possibility of becoming the new witch hunts, since individual clergy will be looking for “evidence of homosexuality” at seminaries rather than relying on personal testimony.

It seems to me that Pope Benedict is really hoping to capitalize on condemning homosexuality in much the way John Paul II did, except he plans to go further with it than his predecessor. Introducing reorientation therapy as a Catholic doctrine seems to be a logical next step, as being outwardly celibate is no longer enough.

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