The ‘plague’ of homosexuality in the priesthood: are we reliving the past?
The "cancer" of sodomy among priests threatens to
bring down the wrath of God upon the Church, according to a Catholic saint and
doctor who addressed a similar crisis in the priesthood over 900 years ago.
In his Book of Gomorrah,
recently published in a new translation by Ite ad Thomam Books and Media,
Damian takes special aim at the growing acceptability of homosexuality among
the clergy, warning that it is “creeping through the clerical order, and indeed
is raging like a cruel beast within the sheepfold of Christ.” He warns that unless
this growing tolerance of homosexuality among clerics and the faithful is
rooted out, “it is certain that the sword of divine fury is looming to attack,
to the destruction of many.”
The Book of
Gomorrah seems particularly relevant in the face of recent
statements about homosexuality from the most influential leaders and groups
within the Catholic Church which have led many to believe that the Church
stands ready to adopt an open-minded perspective on homosexuality. Such
statements include, but are not limited to, the abuse of Pope Francis’ famous
statement in 2013 “Who am I to judge?”, and the statement from the 2014 Synod
on the Family’s midterm report implying that homosexuals, on account of their
proclivity to this sin, have “gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian
community.”
Damian, an 11th century Italian Catholic reformer and a Doctor
of the Church, argued that for the Church to be the salt of the earth and a
light to the world, she must uncompromisingly preach the whole truth about
God’s plan for sexuality and how terrible are the consequences, both temporal
and eternal, to those who engage in the “unnatural sexual practices” of
homosexuality, masturbation, and contraception.
Even though Damian, who lived from 1007-1072, wrote his Book
of Gomorrahalmost a thousand years ago, his analysis of the problem
of homosexuality within the Church at that time has been viewed by many as
remarkably contemporary, fresh, and insightful when read alongside current
movements within the Church seemingly bent on changing the Church’s moral
teaching. Damian addressed his book to Pope Saint Leo IX, asking him to take
action against the practice of homosexuality among clerics and monks that was
widespread at that time.
Translator Matthew Hoffman, who dedicated the new edition to
Pope Francis, told LifeSiteNews that the book carries an important message for
the present time, especially in highlighting what he called the “extremely
destructive” effects of homosexual behavior on the human person, both
spiritually and psychologically.
“Damian…is a powerful voice from our past reminding us of the
terrible gravity of homosexual behavior, and indeed any perversion of the
sexual act,” he said.
Following Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, Damian sees
homosexuality as a “diabolical” corruption of God’s beautiful plan for
sexuality between a man and a woman. It is a direct assault against God. Not
only must it not be tolerated, but it must be condemned and stamped out, he
writes. Homosexuality is a “lethal wound festering in the very body of the holy
Church” that must first be recognized as a wound before any treatment and
healing can take place.
Damian chooses his words carefully in warning about the severity
of the disease.
“This vice [of same-sex activity] is the death of bodies, the
destruction of souls, pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of the
intellect, expels the Holy Spirit from the temple of the human heart,
introduces the diabolical inciter of lust, throws into confusion, and removes
the truth completely from the deceived mind.”
“It prepares snares for the one who walks, and for him who falls
into the pit, it obstructs the escape. It opens up hell and closes the door of
paradise. It makes the citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem into an heir of the
Babylonian underworld. From the star of heaven, it produces the kindling of
eternal fire. It cuts off a member of the Church and casts him into the
voracious conflagration of raging Gehenna.”
“For it is this which violates sobriety, kills modesty, slays
chastity. It butchers virginity with the sword of a most filthy contagion. It
befouls everything, it stains everything, it pollutes everything, and for
itself it permits nothing pure, nothing foreign to filth, nothing clean,” he
states.
While the outspoken defender of the Catholic faith may be seen
by modern detractors as a “homophobe” and a “bigot,” Damian makes it clear that
his words arise out of a profound love for others.
“For how am I loving my neighbor as myself, if I negligently
allow the wound, by which I do not doubt him to be dying a cruel death, to
fester in his soul? Seeing therefore the spiritual wounds, should I neglect to
cure them by the surgery of words?” he said.
It is out of love and concern for others that Damian warns those
engaging in homosexual practices of the punishment of eternal separation from
God that awaits them if they remain unrepentant and die in their sin.
“I myself…weep over you, and from the depths of my heart I sigh
over your lot of perdition. I weep over you, I say, O miserable soul given over
to the dregs of impurity, you who are to be lamented with a whole fountain of
tears.”
“You are most greatly to be wept over, because you do not weep.
You are in need of the sufferings of others because you do not feel the danger
of your ruin, and you are to be wept over all the more by bitter tears of
fraternal compassion because you are not troubled by your own sorrowful
lamentation,” he said.
Regarding the question of practicing homosexuals
receiving Holy Communion, Damian is clear that homosexual activity
cuts off the life of God in the soul and makes one “unworthy of receiving in
his mouth the heavenly offering of the Eucharist.”
Hoffman told LifeSiteNews there is no hatred in the doctor’s
words, only mercy.
“Quite the contrary; his work is all about mercy and love of the
sinner, and therefore the hatred of the sin that harms him. He never expresses
hatred of the sinner at all, but seeks his reconciliation with God.”
Damian begs those caught up in the homosexual lifestyle to
abandon their sin and return to “the abundance of the divine mercy.” He
encourages those who have fallen to repent, assuring them that by the route of
humility they may progress to even greater spiritual heights than those from
which they fell.
“Arise, arise, I implore you! Wake up O man who sinks in the
sleep of wretched pleasure! Revive at last, you who have fallen by the lethal
sword before the face of your enemies!…Enter into a constant struggle with the
flesh, and always stand armed against the importunate fury of lust. If the
flame of wantonness burns in your bones, the recollection of perpetual fire
should immediately extinguish it,” he said.
Hoffman said that Damian’s words offer a severe warning to the
Church if she fails in preaching the full truth about the danger of
homosexuality.
“Damian warns that sodomy, particularly in the priesthood, is
like a terrible plague that threatens to bring down the wrath of God. He warns
that priests who are engaged in such evils are not proper intercessors for the
people and, in fact, will tend to provoke divine vengeance rather than
reconciliation.”
“He also warns prelates, such as bishops and superiors of
religious orders, that if they fail to correct those who are under their
authority, they will be held accountable for their sin. He denounces their
‘cruel mercy’ and ‘impious piety,’ in refusing to punish evildoers, which
causes the wounds of their sin to fester rather than curing them.”
“Unfortunately our own prelates seem to have adopted the
opposite idea regarding sexual sin in recent years, claiming to be ‘merciful’
by refusing to recognize the gravity of the evil and its destructiveness,” he
said, adding that this will only cause great harm to the Church and to its
mission to preach the gospel in season and out of season.
Editor’s note: LifeSiteNews readers can purchase The Book of
Gomorrah at a 15% discounted price from Ite ad Thomam Books and Media here and will
also receive a free copy of the e-book.
