This is horrible. I’ve never heard of this guy but maybe you have before. It’s pretty terrible. The Huffington Post reports that a priest who lived in New York but now lives in London is a self professed gay Catholic priest who is non-celibate; has been married to a man for the past 14 years, and has officiated over the weddings of many gay and lesbian Catholic couples. And guess what? He’s written a book about it.
I’m not going to go into the whole interview with Father Bernard Lynchh because I’m too disturbed. He does say that he was expelled from his order last year.
“I was expeled from my order just as recently as November of last year and I am under threat of suspension from the priesthood,” he said.
And yet, he vows to stay in the church as long as he can, and explained why he would stay in a church that promotes bigotry against his own kind.
“I believe in Christ. and I believe in the Gospel of justice,” he explained. “There is gross injustice in my church, therefore I feel a duty to stay within and say this is not the way I see it, as Christ would have it. I believe the Gospel is about human and civil rights, for all people.”
I suspect you’ll be seeing more of this story. I’m thinking that the media will have found their new favorite priest. But if this story is true, the Vatican needs to act. Fast.
July 11, 2012 at 5:32 pm
I know a priest who taught at my Catholic High School who waited for my former boyfiend to turn 18 so the two of them could run off to New York together in the early 80's. He's still out there as a "Dignity" priest – you can find him on the web and he calls himself Catholic. That doesn't make him Catholic. BTW – I don't know anyone who ever saw or heard from that boy again. Life ruined.
July 11, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Nothing's new under the sun. St. Romuald had to combat homosexuality in the priesthood and encountered several same-sex priest unions during his efforts to reform medieval religious life.
Just pray, stay strong, and don't let the storms of the world trouble you. It will all disappear soon enough.
July 11, 2012 at 6:19 pm
"a church that promotes bigotry against his own kind" — what kind is that??? Isn't he human like the rest of us? What a crock.
July 15, 2012 at 4:32 am
Pomeranian Catholic, are you thinking of St Peter Damian (also a medieval Camaldolese hermit, who became a reformer bishop)? Peter Damian is a doctor of the Church and among his more famous writings is a lengthy, fierce and detailed treatise against homosexual behavior. It is in print in one of the volumes of his letters from CUA Press but the book is $$ and very hard to come by unless you order it directly from CUA.