This would not qualify as good. This Irish priest is actively undermining the Church. Something must be done.
HuffPo:
After serving a Roman Catholic parish in Ireland for 15 years, the Rev. Martin Dolan told congregants the truth about his sexual orientation over the weekend.
Dolan was standing at the pulpit during a Saturday mass at Dublin’s Church of St. Nicholas of Myra when he began encouraging parishioners to support legalizing same-sex marriage, according to The Irish Sun. Then, he made the unexpected announcement: “I’m gay myself.”
The priest reportedly received a standing ovation.
A community youth worker in Dublin told The Irish Sun, “We are all very proud of Father Martin. Because he has admitted that he is gay doesn’t change the person that he was before it.”
Two Irish LGBT rights groups confirmed the priest’s remarks to the HuffPost in emails.
Andrew Hyland, director of Marriage Equality, said that he lives on the same street as the church and that his father is one of Dolan’s parishioners.
“Fr. Dolan’s acknowledgement from the pulpit that he is gay and supports marriage equality has been warmly welcomed in Ireland,” Hyland wrote. “The parishioners of Francis Street have expressed a deep loyalty towards him since his brave announcement.”
If the priest would say he has homosexual tendencies but is celibate and explained the Church’s teaching, it could be a good opportunity to school ’em up about the Church’s teaching. But it doesn’t look like that happened. In fact, he’s encouraging gay marriage so he’s actively undermining the Church’s teaching on marriage. During Mass.
In all media he’s being hailed as a hero. But let’s face it. It takes very little guts to go along with the tides of secularization. The true heroes are those who are able to stand up against their own times.
