Father Neuhaus: Jesuit Magazine America Misses the Point

Father Richard John Neuhaus notes that the editors of America, the official publication of the Jesuits, seem to have completely missed the point of Rome's recent instruction on homosexuals in the preisthood:

The editorial response in America pointedly does not affirm the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. It does emphasize the number of “excellent priests” who are “gay,” and caution against animosity toward them and other gays. Then there is this:

There is a valid concern that the priesthood should not become exclusively or even predominantly the domain of gay men. In the same way that one would not want to see all or most priests coming from a particular ethnic group, or from a particular region of a country, one hopes that the priesthood reflects the great diversity of Catholics.

So the response of the official magazine of the Society of Jesus in the U.S. would seem to be that homosexuality is no more morally problematic than one’s ethnic identity or geographical origins, and that there should be room in the priesthood also for men who are not gay. Rome says gay men should not be admitted to the priesthood. The Society of Jesus, insofar as it is represented by America, responds that men who are not gay should not be excluded from the priesthood. There would appear to be a problem here.

My Comments:
If you think that's bad, there's no telling how the America crowd is likely to misconstrue a Papal encyclical dealing with eros entitled "God is Love".