Back from Switzerland and getting ready for new school year. Just received the following message/article from gay Catholic priest, Richard Wagner, about his newly published book, which looks like a 'must read.' I've just ordered it from Amazon.
Gay Catholic Priest Breaks Silence Over Church Abuse of Power
Richard
Wagner, Ph.D., is the only Catholic priest in the world with a
doctorate in human sexuality. He is a gay man and the author of the
seminal work - Gay Catholic Priests; A Study of Cognitive and Affective
Dissonance. The media firestorm that erupted after its publication and
the backlash within his religious community because of its publication
eventually destroyed his public priesthood.
Now Richard speaks
out again. His latest book, SECRECY, SOPHISTRY AND GAY SEX IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH; The Systematic Destruction Of An Oblate Priest,
provides an intimate and disturbing look into the unseemly
inner-workings of the Catholic Church. It is a story of how this
institution deals with dissent in its midst, and to what lengths it will
go to silence a whistle-blower. It involves the highest levels of the
Vatican bureaucracy, secret documents, corporate incompetence, canonical
corruption, and institutionalized homophobia on an epic scale.
His
account of ecclesiastical malfeasance is both timely and in sync with
current trends in the popular culture, from the gay marriage debate to
the revelation of rampant clergy sexual misconduct.
Richard's
story reveals Church corruption, criminality and abuse of power that was
once cloaked in secrecy to avoid detection. His is a story of a
religious institution that will even violate its core principles to
protect its public image. In other words, this is a story of a Church
out of control.
At the same time Richard's story is unfolding an
unimaginable scandal, involving hundreds of Catholic priests across the
globe, is also brewing. Cardinals, bishops and provincials worldwide are
furtively shuffling pedophile priest from one crime scene to another.
Plus they are involved in a massive corporate cover up of their own
crimes and those of their brother clergy.
While Richard is being
singled out for 13 years of Church vitriol, public character
assassination and communal shunning these same Church leaders and others
are lying, prevaricating and sabotaging any effort to uncover the
burgeoning clergy sexual abuse scandal that now rock the front pages of
newspapers all over the world.
The public panic, among Church
officials, exhibited toward Richard-a single up-front gay priest in
their midst-is in stark contrast to their apathetic and anemic response
to the systemic clergy sexual misconduct and abuse that engulfs them.
Richard
has first-hand knowledge of this clergy abuse. He was repeatedly
sexually molested by his superior as a 14-year-old boy in an Oblate
seminary in southern Illinois.
Product Description from Amazon
For centuries homosexuals have been vilified and persecuted by the
Catholic Church, but throughout all of its history the Church has had a
very inconvenient secret. Many of its clergy and religious men and
women, even those in the highest echelons of the Church, were and are
homosexual. Little was known of the lives these religious people live
until the publication, in 1981, of the groundbreaking, Gay Catholic Priests; A Study of Cognitive and Affective Dissonance.
I am the author of that study and I am a gay priest. But the media firestorm that erupted after its publication and the backlash within my religious community because of its publication eventually destroyed my public priesthood. The story of my 13-year battle with the Church to save my ministry exemplifies the spiritual isolation, emotional distress and ecclesiastical reprisals every gay priest most fears.
Secrecy, Sophistry And Gay Sex In The Catholic Church provides an intimate and disturbing look into the unseemly inner-workings of the Catholic Church. It is primarily a story about how this institution deals with dissent in its midst, but it also shows to what lengths the Church will go to silence a whistle-blower. What I am about to recount happened between 1981 and 1994. It involves the highest levels of the Vatican bureaucracy, secret documents, corporate incompetence, canonical corruption, and institutionalized homophobia on an epic scale.
I am the author of that study and I am a gay priest. But the media firestorm that erupted after its publication and the backlash within my religious community because of its publication eventually destroyed my public priesthood. The story of my 13-year battle with the Church to save my ministry exemplifies the spiritual isolation, emotional distress and ecclesiastical reprisals every gay priest most fears.
Secrecy, Sophistry And Gay Sex In The Catholic Church provides an intimate and disturbing look into the unseemly inner-workings of the Catholic Church. It is primarily a story about how this institution deals with dissent in its midst, but it also shows to what lengths the Church will go to silence a whistle-blower. What I am about to recount happened between 1981 and 1994. It involves the highest levels of the Vatican bureaucracy, secret documents, corporate incompetence, canonical corruption, and institutionalized homophobia on an epic scale.
From the Inside Flap
The publication of my dissertation broke the seal on the Vatican's gay
secret. The press dubbed me "The Gay Priest," but my research and what
it implies made patently clear that I wasn't the only gay priest. In
fact, there is a sizable segment of the clergy population that is gay
and these men are forced to live duplicitous lives of repression in
secret.
The Church's single-minded effort to quash the emerging story and silence me showed that I needed to be "dealt with" in the most severe fashion; an example had to be made of me. If other priests started coming out of the closet, demanding to be treated with dignity and respect it would certainly undercut the entirety of Catholic sexual moral theology--there is no place for non-reproductive sexuality in that paradigm.
The irony is that at the same time my story was unfolding an unimaginable scandal, involving hundreds of Catholic priests across the globe, was also brewing. Cardinals, bishops and provincials worldwide were, and still are, furtively shuffling pedophile priest from one crime scene to another. They were, and still are, involved in a massive corporate cover up of their own crimes and those of their brother clergy.
While I am being singled out for 13 years of Church vitriol, public character assassination and communal shunning--my superiors claim that they are simply trying to protect the Church from scandal--these same Church leaders and others are lying, prevaricating and sabotaging any effort to uncover the burgeoning clergy sexual abuse scandal that would soon rock the front pages of newspapers all over the world.
The public panic, among Church officials, exhibited toward me--a single up-front gay priest in their midst--is in stark contrast to their apathetic and anemic response to the systemic clergy sexual abuse that engulfs them.
I am confident making the comparison between my struggle and the clergy sex abuse scandal, because I have first-hand knowledge of this abuse criminality. I was repeatedly sexually molested as a 14-year-old boy in an Oblate seminary in southern Illinois.
My story is the story of a Church that will go to any length, even to violate its core principles--Gospel values that form the fundamental tenets of faith--to protect its public image. In other words, this is a story of a Church out of control.
The Church's single-minded effort to quash the emerging story and silence me showed that I needed to be "dealt with" in the most severe fashion; an example had to be made of me. If other priests started coming out of the closet, demanding to be treated with dignity and respect it would certainly undercut the entirety of Catholic sexual moral theology--there is no place for non-reproductive sexuality in that paradigm.
The irony is that at the same time my story was unfolding an unimaginable scandal, involving hundreds of Catholic priests across the globe, was also brewing. Cardinals, bishops and provincials worldwide were, and still are, furtively shuffling pedophile priest from one crime scene to another. They were, and still are, involved in a massive corporate cover up of their own crimes and those of their brother clergy.
While I am being singled out for 13 years of Church vitriol, public character assassination and communal shunning--my superiors claim that they are simply trying to protect the Church from scandal--these same Church leaders and others are lying, prevaricating and sabotaging any effort to uncover the burgeoning clergy sexual abuse scandal that would soon rock the front pages of newspapers all over the world.
The public panic, among Church officials, exhibited toward me--a single up-front gay priest in their midst--is in stark contrast to their apathetic and anemic response to the systemic clergy sexual abuse that engulfs them.
I am confident making the comparison between my struggle and the clergy sex abuse scandal, because I have first-hand knowledge of this abuse criminality. I was repeatedly sexually molested as a 14-year-old boy in an Oblate seminary in southern Illinois.
My story is the story of a Church that will go to any length, even to violate its core principles--Gospel values that form the fundamental tenets of faith--to protect its public image. In other words, this is a story of a Church out of control.
4 comments:
thank you so much for the plug, Jaden! i really appreciate it. i do hope we get to connect at some point so that we can chat further. i'm eager to hear your thoughts and comments about the book if/when you have any to share. i hope you enjoy what is left of the summer.
— richard
Another question that really needs to be looked at is why so many gay people are attracted to spiritual roles. This isn't just a Catholic phenomenon.
There is a Native American idea that sees gays as the 'bridge people'. The are the bridge between genders and the bridge between material reality and other plains of existence. I kind of think there is something to that notion.
Colleen, I'm a great admirer of Toby Johnson, who argues just that point. See his website: http://www.tobyjohnson.com/
I thought of you recently, actually, while watching an extraordinary film, Altiplano, about the Indians of Peru who have great devotion to the 'Virgin' of Christianity, but who integrate this devotion into their overall worship of Mother Earth, their real religion.
Not to diminish the high crimes of the RCC but Please examine the Jehovah's Witnesses who go door to door and come on our property.
Jehovah's Witnesses pedophiles.
Many court documents and news events prove that Jehovah's Witnesses require two witnesses when a child comes forward with allegations of molestation within the congregation. Such allegations have customarily been treated as sins instead of crimes and are only reported to authorities when it is required to do so by law, (which varies by state).
It has also been shown that child molesters within the organization usually have not been identified to the congregation members or the public at large. These people engage in a door to door ministry, possibly exposing children to pedophiles.
The Watchtower corporation has paid out millions in settlement money already.
-- Danny Haszard abuse victim
dannyhaszard(dot)com
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