“A dollar short” is a good description, since of course Lombard was a Vestry member, a leader in the parish. However, the Diocese is right to decline to talk details at this point. Since the parish is a mission, its vicar reports directly to the bishop. No doubt there are intense conversations and investigations going on right now as to whether Lombard was inappropriate with any other children. The statement says they are cooperating fully with police. If there are any other instances of abuse, we can hope they are being fully reported to authorities.

The defensive tone of the chorus of “Homosexuality and pedophilia are two different issues!” is evident. Of course it is true that the large majority of adult male homosexuals do not abuse underage children, or even adolescents. However, it is also true that statistically speaking homosexual males are perhaps ten times more likely to do this than are heterosexual males. In a large room full of pedophiles there would be a much higher number of homosexual men than their numbers in the general population. This leads, sometimes, to unfair aspersions cast on the majority of homosexual men, those who don’t have pedophilia.

However, it is clear that in this case, if Lombard is guilty as charged, that we have a man who is both a homosexual (the adult partner) and a pedophile.

The problem the DioNC and this parish have is that both are strongly, publicly, pro-gay rights, pro-gay marriage, and so on. This does not mean that they are pro-pedophilia. What happened, though, is that because Lombard and his children fit their stereotypes of the wonderful new world they favor, they missed signs of the ugliness underneath. They may have been blinded by their prejudices.

I was mainly referring to comments here and on Griffith’s site, not necessarily blog posts themselves (though to be sure, I’ve seen some that DO equate homosexuality with pedophilia).

peace …, sure. I’ve seen some over-the-top comments. But I’ve also seen some who insist that there is NO CONNECTION OF ANY KIND between male homosexuality and pedophilia, or between male homosexuality and the abuse of adolescent boys. This is just as much over the top. There is, sadly, a statistically significant considerably higher incidence of abuse of male children and boys by male homosexuals than there is of female children and girls by male heterosexuals. As a case in point, something like 90-95% of the victims in the Catholic sex scandals were male, either small children or adolescents. The priesthood at the time was nowhere near 90% gay. The Vatican has wisely decided to prohibit men with an overwhelmingly homosexual orientation from going to seminary and being ordained because of the excessive temptations such men would be exposed to in the priesthood. This will result, no doubt, in some good and faithful candidates who were capable of restraint being turned away, but it will also result in less childhood abuse within the Church.

I deeply hope that in this case there were no signs that something was wrong in the Lombard household, because if there were signs which the parish deliberately looked beyond because of the image he and his children presented then there will be a lot of prayer and repentance required.

Tagging on to Katherine’s comment:

A homosexualist on another site recently listed acts of violence against gay men over the past 10-15 yyears. There were many 30, and this was somehow evidence of a massive persecution against gays. Check the sex offender registry for any mid-sized city, and you will find far more than 30 men who have male victims. Mention that, however, and you are a “homophobe”, since everyone knows there isn’t a correlation between same-sex attraction and pedophilia.

Of course, the weasel word is “pedophilia”, which refers to a sexual attraction for pre-pubescent children. Not only is there not a correlation, but pedophiles often cross over between girls and boys. I personally know 3 gay men who I know had sex with 15-16 year old young men, which is what we usually see with the Catholic scandals. These are crimes of opportunity, not a psychological sickness.

An interesting essay from Houston.

Drudge and CNN picked up the story?
Got links?

Drudge was a link to the N&O story about the neighborhood clamming up.

Thanks, Daniel; That was a really interesting article.

Here’s the CNN story:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/30/duke.molestation.internet/index.html?iref=newssearch

Statement by the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina: “I know nothing! NOTHING!“

Well, Duke has no comment so far. No sports, no story?

It’s EXTREMELY interesting to note the following paragraph therefrom in light of the “communal setting” with which Mr. Lombard’s involved with:

The family unit – spawning ground of llies, betrayals, mediocrity, hypocrisy and violence – will be abolished. The family unit, which only dampens imagination and curbs free will, must be eliminated. Perfect boys will be conceived and grown in the genetic laboratory. They will be bonded together in communal setting[s], under the control and instruction of homosexual savants.

[Emphases mine...]

Read the whole thing and SHUDDER!!!…

Even quoting that one paragraph is enough to make my blood boil and my head swim with both suicidal and criminal fantasies…

I’ll cross the line. Both pedophilic acts and homosexual acts are immoral – as are masturbation and heterosexual acts that take place outside of marriage and/or that are not open to the transmission of life.

Actually, gay men can be accepted into the priesthood. What they cannot be is sexually active … either physically or emotionally. But that is equally true of hetrosexual men who go into the priesthood. Admittedly, being a priest means that most of the priest’s companions and friends are other men … which will provide a higher level of temptation to men who are gay. That should be taken into consideration as well.

(Yes, I am all too aware that this standard has not been upheld. American Catholics believe that our bishops are responsible for most of this systematic failure. Remember … it is Catholic children at risk. It is the resources of
Catholic lay men and women that have “compensated” the victims. Automatic trust is also gone to a large degree. I think that is mostly good … but at what a price.)

“Greg Griffith et al (I guess that includes this journal) are capitalizing on the Lombard case to target the liberal Episcopal church for their own political reasons.”

Greg Griffith doesn’t just target the liberal Episcopal church. He has also commented about other churches.

Here’s one today in a blog post by Sarah Hey:

“You know, if the Roman Catholic Church would just let those gay priests get married, I’m sure they wouldn’t molest little boys all the time.”

Funny how this is all my fault now.

TU&D,

Do the words “irony,” “ironic,” or “sarcasm” appear in your dictionary?

Remember … it is Catholic children at risk.

Actually, Catholic children are no more at risk than any child in this culture. Catholic priests offend at a rate no greater than other men with access to children, and possibly at a lesser rate.

I think that to speak of a “gay priest” raises several problems, first being whether you are speaking a man who experiences sexual attraction to other men, a man who is sexually active wit other men, or a man who believes and teaches homosexualist ideology.

Excellent article you linked, Daniel. I think it describes well the real problems with the who gay rights movement.

Catholic priests offend at a rate no greater than other men with access to children, and possibly at a lesser rate.

Study after study confirms this, yet some people NEVER get the message. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard, from non-Catholic Christians, both Protestants and Orthodox, some variation of the following: “Far more than any other church on earth, the Catholic Church has institutionalized pedophilia, which is pervasive among Catholic clergy. The Catholic Church is exponentially more corrupt and evil than all other communions.”

Even today, even with manifold evidence re other communions’ issues coming to light, I hear this stuff. Just recently I heard it from several quarters. I can post links to the data (independent surveys, peer-reviewed studies) showing that the incidence of clergy sex abuse is not greater (percentage-wise) among Catholic clergy than among other communions’ clergy — and may even be less. It does no good. People who want to cherish their bigotry will not be confused by the facts. I call it the Maria Monk Syndrome.

When you lift a rock, you’ll find all sorts of nasty things underneath. Most Catholic “rocks” have been lifted. (That’s one positive result of the sex abuse scandal!) But most other communions have not lifted those rocks yet. Or had them lifted. That means the members of said other communions can gloatingly pat themselves on the back: “We’re not like those Catholics over there….” Oh yeah? Just wait till someone lifts your big ole moss-covered rock. I’m talking “when,” not “if.” As Our Lord said, nothing is hidden now that will not be revealed. You can count on it.

Judgment begins in the Household of God — but then it spreads to the tenant cottages, as it were.

Diane

Greg Griffith:

Obviously you are not to blame for the crime. Don’t be ridiculous. But I doubt you’d jump on this case with such righteous enthusiasm were Frank Lombard not associated with the Episcopal church (or perhaps a “liberal” church of any flavor), given the aims of your website.

We’re dealing with sin for sure here, an awful crime, a horrible and heartbreaking injustice. It is a shame that there’s not a whole lot more praying going on here and a whole lot less attempting to divide and conquer the Anglican communion.

FW Ken, I am sorry if I was not clear in my context. The victims of criminal Roman Catholic priests are almost always other Roman Catholics. No group suffers more when a predator priest is not stopped. That was the context. I was responding to Katherine’s first comment which, while accurate, might seem to imply that there is no room in the priesthood for a gay man no matter how good and faithful. She did not say that, but, if her comment is not carefully read, one might draw that assumption. I was just trying to make it clearer that there is room for gay men in the priesthood assuming that they can live a celibate and chaste life … physically and emotionally. However, there should be very, very careful discernment by both the man and the Church. I don’t think you and I disagree.

Susan, I could easily be wrong here, and perhaps other Catholic commenters could help us out. It is my understanding that new guidelines for seminary applications specifically exclude men with a permanent same-sex attraction from the priesthood. There are questions and evaluations to help identify such men. The Church does not say that any man who has had a passing thought about other men is “gay” and cannot be a priest, but the new rules do exclude men who are consistently same-sex in their attraction, even if celibate.

As to existing ordained priests, of course the Church is not engaged in a witch hunt to throw them out. As Fr. Richard John Neuhaus said at the time, the problem was a lack of faithfulness to the vows. The same applies to heterosexual priests who are found to be having affairs with women. They have not been faithful to their promises.

All the Catholics above are correct in pointing out that rates of abuse are no higher among Catholic clergy than they are among Protestant clergy. What I was trying to point out was not anti-Catholic, but pro-Catholic. The Church, in the wake of a horrible scandal, is taking responsible action to prevent such a thing from happening again by removing opportunity for temptation. This is charitable towards children and also charitable towards men who experience same-sex attraction.

The Diocese of North Carolina is now dealing with a terrible situation which it appears not to have considered as a possibility. The State of North Carolina and its child placement agencies may also come under scrutiny.

Katherine: I believe you are perfectly correct. And I very much appreciate your pro-Catholic insights. I definitely did not have you in mind when I referred to people who insist that the Catholic Church is exponentially more evil than any other communion. Indeed, I wasn’t really referring to anyone at this forum. Rather, I had several people in mind — several recent cases — from other fora. One of these people actually said that Catholic sex abuse is worse than anything done by “any 20th-century dictator.” I am NOT making this up. Apparently butchering millions of people is, like, no big deal, dude. :p When the Maria Monk Brigade really gets going, it’s amazing what they’ll come up with.

diane, it was Susan who wasn’t quite sure where I was coming from. No worries in either case.

And yes, while I am, as you know, unable to make the leap from Anglican to RC, these extreme false stereotypes of other communions don’t help at all. I got involved at SF on the bones of St. Paul, which I consider historically interesting, and there was a chorus of “those Catholics are horrible about relics, so they’re probably not being honest here.” Imputing the worst possible motives to each other doesn’t help anybody.

I am using a pseudonym here for this comment.

I was abused by my fourth grade teacher and so were other boys in my class. My abuser was a homosexual male who later died of AIDS. I seriously doubt he contracted the disease from his students. Yes, there is a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia, even if only statistical. I am strong opposed to gay adoption for this reason.

Jason, you’re likely right that your abuser-”teacher” did NOT contract AIDS from his students; however, it’s by no means impossible that some of them may have caught it from him. [Sad to say, it seems that a HUGE MAJORITY of sodomites are extremely promiscuous, out to score as many conquests as possible!!! The whole idea of sodomite "marriage" is merely for their pocketbooks plus to attack society (encouraged by their proclivities as well as Communists - many of them are such or at least left-leaning on account of their being "intellectuals", by way of which they frequently become militants!) and eventually suborn it to THEIR tastes, destroying us all in the process!!!!]

Given this 1) extreme promiscuousness, 2) the violation of millenia of customs (not to mention the Biblical prohibitions against sodomy to begin with!!) and 3) their frequently being a) into other sexual crimes (incest, pædophilia, bestiality – on which grounds alone you’re very right to oppose “‘gay’ adoption”!!!) and b) generally being half anti-social anyway (especially as left-wingers!): I oppose anything more than “civil-unions” which anyway should NEVER be “blessed” by ecclesiastical institutions of ANY SORT (unless they set them up themselves – which is what they’ve made of TEo as well as setting up their “Metropolitan Community” organizations)!!!

If these beliefs and sentiments based on wholesome logic make me a “homophobe”, I then openly EMBRACE it with all my heart!! Furthermore, after finding out what those “Pride” parades are all about, I’ll dare say that it would be good for society that those militant sociopaths (enough of whom are anyway psychopaths to boot) be forced back into the closet (unless they have complete city-suburbs/mini-states strictly devoted to themselves {i.e., ghetti}, where they can do what they like without polluting the rest of us)! We don’t need to become another Sodom & Gomorrah!!