Friday, March 27, 2009

"An identifiable and systemic homophobia pervasive throughout the Roman Catholic hierarchy"

Where would you expect that quote to come from?

Lambda? Equality California? Dignity USA?

Nope. It's from an Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco, the Reverend Vincent Pizzuto. It is part of the opening abstract of his December, 2008 essay:

"God has made it plain to them: an indictment of Rome's hermeneutic of homophobia."

You can find the essay here.

We posted in detail last week on Reverend Pizzuto's March 31 visit to St. Rita's Church in Fairfax, California. We were not aware of this essay at that time.

Reverend Pizzuto finds the Catholic Church homophobic--so much so that he left it in 2007 and had himself ordained as priest into another church--one not in communion with Rome.

This essay strengthens the questions we asked last week, and now gives them an even greater urgency:

1) Why is a priest of another religion, who publishes work attacking the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, being employed by a Catholic University?

2) Why is he being allowed in a teaching function at a Catholic parish?

When we were covering the play "Be Still and Know" (performed against the Archbishop's wishes at USF) by homosexual activist Alex Sanchez, we asserted that what we are seeing in some of our Archdiocesan institutions is an "evangelizing for homosexuality." Some people may consider that hyperbole. It is not.

Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney

5 comments:

Susanna said...

In view of the perception of "homophobia" by which it is described as "the natural revulsion that unnatural acts invite in most people" - and given the old aphorism that "all heresy begins below the belt," - I think I will opt for the Church's so-called "hermeneutics of homophobia" as opposed to Rev. Vincent Pizzutto's "hermeneutics of heresy and hypocrisy!"

Anonymous said...

When people attack the messenger, it strongly suggest he's making some good points.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous. "Me thinks thou doth protest too much," if you understand what I'm saying.

Gibbons in SF said...

Anonymous 7:58PM.

I don't, actually.

Reverend Pizzuto is a teacher of theology at a Catholic University, who has: 1)left the Catholic faith; 2)been ordained in another religion, which is not in communion with Rome; and 3) published work attacking the Catholic Church, and its teaching.

Those are simple facts, amply documented. Why is he still allowed to teach at a Catholic University, and why is he being allowed to appear in a teaching function at Catholic parishes?

Anonymous said...

Academic freedom? You can't seriously be suggesting all those teaching at Catholic universities must subscribe to the teachings.