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Identity is the word of the decade, and is a helpful one here. For many, one simply is Catholic and one is called to the priesthood. That you have a few “sins”
by swatcoder 4y ago
Identity is the word of the decade, and is a helpful one here. For many, one simply is Catholic and one is called to the priesthood.
That you have a few “sins” to struggle doesn’t change your identity or your relationship to it, and besides — everyone has some “sins” they struggle with. As a priest, of all people, you would know that.
As a whole, secular society sees sexual preference as an inflexible identity around which other things like religious affiliation or occupation might pivot. But the converse works just as well for an individual’s view of the world and is of course what many well-established traditions espouse.
Catholicism, in particular, leaves room for living people being imperfect and inescapably bearing “sins” throughout their lives. It’s a core part of the theology. It’s what you do with it that becomes your profession of faith, and committing to the priesthood makes sense as a emphatic way of doing something about yours. (Which suggests that the preisthood can easily collect especially troubled “sinners” seeking to overcome their troubles… who maybe don’t always do a great job of it)
- goethes_kind 4y agoI am an atheist who grew up Catholic and I find I am incompatible with a lot of the secular world, when it comes to important values to live by. For example, what is marriage, what is love, what is the meaning/value of sex, to what extent is one prepared to sacrifice themselves for others, what is family, what is money, what role should charity play in society, what is a good life well lived, the relationship between the self and society, ...honestly so many aspects of the philosophy of life to consider. I am not 100% in agreement with the official Church doctrine in all aspects, but then again no Catholic is. But I find myself much more at home with other people from a similiar background irrespective of whether they are still believers or not. I suspect these gay Catholic find themselves in a similiar situation. They probably do not share much in common with the secular world. Lots of people will immediately call this hypocrisy but they just have not put that much thought into it. There is more to life than sexual preferences.