Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner

Unless, of course, the sinner in question is gay, in which case you won't be welcome to serve in the Catholic Church. The Jesuits are probably fighting a battle worthy of Sisyphus in arguing with the Catholics over this.

A top Jesuit official is raising objections about an upcoming Vatican document that's expected to reinforce Roman Catholic teaching that gays are not welcome in the priesthood, while some U.S. leaders of men's religious orders are considering a trip to Rome to express their opposition.

The Rev. Gerald Chojnacki, head of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, said in a letter to his priests that he was asking bishops to tell Vatican officials who are drafting the policy "of the great harm this will cause many good priests and the Catholic faithful."

I noticed this item while browsing at Shakespeare's Sister, where our good sister said,

Because my only real experience with the Catholicism was with the Jesuits I knew at university, I tend to associate my feelings about the church with them, and so it makes me very happy to see that they are continuing the traditions of thoughtfulness, tolerance, and inclusion that made me fond of them in the first place.

I don't live in a vacuum, and I realize that it takes a long time for progressive change to take place inside the Catholic church. How many centuries did it take for them to finally admit that maybe Galileo was right? Have they ever conceded that they might have gotten just a tad out of hand during the Spanish inquisition? But leaders of other churches seem to have found a way to drag themselves kicking and screaming at least into the twentieth century, if not the current one.

The Vatican tends to dwell on things for years, decades or centuries before putting out new "policy statements", if you will. Change comes only in tiny increments. But I am always saddened by their persistent belief that both women and homosexuals are somehow still some form of lesser beings, worthy of their tolerance, pity and charity, but not their respect, and certainly not deserving of treatment as equals.

I'm glad the Jesuits are standing up to this archaic form of institutionalized bigotry cloaked in "God's will", but I'm not hopeful that it will have any impact when the Vatican documents are finally released. There's a bitter sort of irony in preaching a message that says, "God loves all of you... but not quite as much as He loves me." Then again, I bet that's exactly the sort of message that brings a smile to Pat Robertson's face.