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 Stand-in Blames Gays for Scandal Church Strategists Favor a Vicious Assault on Same Sex Love Bigot Msgr. Eugene Clark Spews Hate at St. Patrick's in NYC |
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Compiled By GayToday
At the same time, Msgr. Clark indulged in America-bashing from his pulpit, suggesting that the United States is "probably the most immoral country" in the Western hemisphere. The Roman Catholic Hierarchy, believes Clark, is under constant assault by sex liberals who are insisting on an end to priestly celibacy. Pope John Paul II, according to the New York Times, has assured his Church that he has no intention of removing mandatory celibacy for priests. Msgr. Clark's assault on gay sexuality, while indicative of the low estate of Roman Catholic excuse-making, is not the first attempt at such a spin. Pope John Paul II's spokesperson, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told theTimes in early March that gay people cannot be ordained. "You cannot be in this field," he said. According to the Times: "Navarro-Valls compared the situation of a gay man who becomes a priest to that of a gay man who marries a woman unaware of his orientation. Just as such a marriage can be annulled, considered invalid from the first, the ordination might similarly be invalid." The Church's spin has been condemned by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Lorri L. Jean, the organization's executive director said: "The system-wide cover-up by the Roman Catholic hierarchy is appalling, as are efforts to shift attention from the true nature of this child sexual abuse scandal by scapegoating homosexuality and gay priests…Homosexuality is not the problem. Child abuse is the problem." Scott Miller, a New Yorker who is both an activist and a glbt news feed specialist believes that it is time for the gay community to take action, or, perhaps, "time for the gloves to come off." Miller writes of Msgr. Egan that he has shown a "most audacious display of self-delusion and abdication of responsibility." He says: "Unless roundly condemned in the New York and national press, Clark's hateful comments have a strong potential to inspire others to act out their homophobia with violence… "It was good to read (in the New York Daily News) that there were those who walked out of the service and expressed disgust with the comments. But it was more disturbing to read that the vast majority stayed and applauded. "What the glbt community needs to do is organize a huge protest outside the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The time has come. Whether or not we have the leadership or wherewithal to put this together remains to be seen.
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