NCR, Daniel Burke, 10-04-2010 “Catholics Face ‘Mutiny’  over Teachings on Gay Marriage’

Catholics face 'mutiny' over teachings on gay marriage

By Daniel Burke, Religion News Service

WASHINGTON -- For 13 years, Fr. Joseph Palacios lived, prayed, and studied with the Jesuits. But he left the Roman Catholic order in 2005 because he would not profess a vow of obedience to the pope. Now, the 59-year-old priest and adjunct professor at Georgetown University is again at odds with the church’s hierarchy, this time on one of its signature issues: the definition of marriage.

Ray Bronk’s Observations

The Luddite tendencies of official RC teaching never cease to amaze me. That homosexuality--naturally occurring in the human species forever--should be declared "unnatural", despite the findings of medical science, is an example of the intellectual gymnastics required by the church's teachings on sexuality. The vehemence with which the "official" church teaches that contraception; remarriage after divorce; married priests and bishops; ordination of women and GLBT persons; true equality for GLBT people; and abortion are all seriously sinful and lead potentially to eternal damnation make one wonder what the "Good News of God in Jesus Christ" is. The radical obsession with and prominence of sexuality in the official teaching of the church make one wonder if the Incarnation took place in order to control people's sex lives. Surely the "Good News" is more about justice, peace and love than it is about exclusion and damnation. Fortunately for the church, the majority of practicing Catholics in the US reject most of this teaching in the expression of their opinions and in their daily lives.