So, it now looks as if the Catholic Church has decided that any man with homosexual inclinations -- even a fully celibate one -- is unfit for the Catholic priesthood. Arg. I stopped considering myself Catholic long ago, but still think of myself as culturally Catholic in a way, in large part because of the quality of Catholics I know and the strong values that were for me part of Catholicism -- focus on family and a belief in the worth of every individual. And there's also a strong current of social justice that at least used to run through the church.

But here today we have a Catholic church that is telling each and every gay man that they are unworthy to make a sacrifice and a commitment that, let's be honest, not all that many men are willing to make. The number of American Catholic priests has dropped more than 25% since those Catholics of my parent's generation were confirmed. Also, we must consider this. I was always taught that being a priest was a response to a calling (one that some think that you could even actually 'hear.' ) So we must now assume that the Church's position is that (1) God don’t call on gays or (2) gays must hang up when God calls.

All this is of course seriously troubling for those gay men who aspire to the priesthood, but what about just your average young gay men raised up Catholic? It’s not exactly a positive experience, good for the old psyche, to grow up in an institution that says that God loves everyone but you. Nearly 30% of gay teenage boys reportedly attempt to kill themselves already. But hell, why not swing for the fences? (Let’s leave aside lesbians for the moment. It’s unclear if their marginality in the church is due to sexuality or gender.)

So I have a challenge to the Catholic Church. Explain to us what is so fundamentally wrong with gay people that even an all-loving God does not love them. Or is your need for a scapegoat so desperate – make no mistake, this is the Church’s way of dealing with its “Boston problem” -- that you’re willing to throw aside an entire group of people and likely further decimate the priesthood without even explaining why? I really have to wonder if this is WJWD.