The Vatican has reportedly fired a priest from the CDF after he announced he was gay and that the Church should change all of its teachings to accommodate him.
Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa was removed from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal arm where he had worked since 2003, a statement said.
Charamsa, 43, and a Polish theologian, announced he was gay and had a partner in a long interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper on Saturday.
He later held a news conference with his partner, a Spanish man, and gay activists at a Rome restaurant. They had planned a demonstration in front of the Vatican but changed the venue several hours before it was due to have started.
The Vatican said Charamsa’s dismissal had nothing to do with his comments on his personal situation, which it said “merit respect”.
But it said giving the interview and the planned demonstration was “grave and irresponsible” given their timing on the eve of a synod of bishops who will discuss family issues, including how to reach out to gays.
It said his actions would subject the synod, which Pope Francis is due to open on Sunday, to “undue media pressure”.
Now, I’ll put a caveat on my commentary here because I’m having to depend on the media here and they’re not the most dependable even when they’re not intentionally lying. They may have butchered what the Vatican’s response was. But, assuming they’re accurate here, I’m a little confused by the “merit respect” thing. Obviously, everyone is entitled to respect. But the Vatican, at least according to this news report, said that his situation merits respect and that they’re firing him because his press conference gives the Church a bad media day right before the Synod.
So the fact that he had a gay partner wouldn’t be enough to raise flags but when he has a presser about it, that’s enough to earn a pink slip?
Sometimes the Vatican’s explanations of things worry me more than the thing itself.
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