Q: If I understand things correctly, according to the grace of the sacrament of Holy Orders, priests are called to be “other Christs” giving their lives for the Church, just as Jesus laid down his life for us, while bishops are supposed to be the living images of God the Father.
Women (of any persuasion) and homosexual men (chaste or not) can’t possibly conform to these images of God.
Why does the Catholic Church continue to permit homosexual men to be deacons, priests, and bishops, even at the same time that it denies the sacrament of matrimony to homosexuals? Is this not a double standard and a continuing scandal?
A: Two wrongs certainly would not make a right. Homosexual marriage and/or homosexual priests are two sides of the same abominable “coin”. Both are seriously disordered and sinful, and neither conforms to the image that God has ordained for them.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1548In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis:23
- It is the same priest, Christ Jesus, whose sacred person his minister truly represents. Now the minister, by reason of the sacerdotal consecration which he has received, is truly made like to the high priest and possesses the authority to act in the power and place of the person of Christ himself (virtute ac persona ipsius Christi).24 Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ.25
1549 Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers.26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop istypos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father.27
I suggest you forward a copyof this post to your bishop, to the USCCB, and to the Vatican, along with your questions and your concerns.
While you’re at it, mention the fact that, in light of all the confusion and demagoguery that went on during the last election cycle, the Church needs the Pope to issue a comprehensive, explicit, and dogmatic “Ex Cathedra” statement on the evils of both homosexuality and abortion.
Nothing less will do.
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