Very large number of priests are gay says former Ireland president

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Former Ireland president Mary McAleese, says the Catholic Church has been in denial over homosexuality for decades.

That so many priests are gay, “isn’t so much the elephant in the room but a herd of elephants.

“I don’t like my church’s attitude to gay people. I don’t like ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’. If you are the so-called sinner, who likes to be called that?

“We also know that within the priesthood a very large number of priests are gay,” she said.

Calling out former Pope Benedict, Mrs McAleese said, “Things written by [Pope] Benedict, for example, were completely contradictory to modern science and to modern understanding, and to the understanding of most Catholics nowadays in relation to homosexuality.

“Nowadays, it is not something that is perceived as something that is intrinsically disordered. Homosexual conduct is not seen as evil,” said Mrs McAleese.

Mrs McAleese compared the church’s attitude to gays to the “Christ killer” charge levelled against Jews for 2,000 years.

“I would have thought Cardinal Keith O’Brien, in telling the story of his life – if he was willing to do that – could have been of great assistance to gay people, not just in the church but elsewhere, who felt over many, many years constrained to pretend to be heterosexual while … acting a different life.”

Sources