love the sinner, hate the sin?

i struggle to understand many things about christianity and catholicism, so this one just gets tossed on the pile i guess. from an article in the washington post:

Word that a soon-to-be-released Vatican document will signal homosexuals are unwelcome in Roman Catholic seminaries even if they are celibate has devastated gay clergy -- and raised doubts among conservatives about whether an outright ban can be enforced.

the article says that the number of gay priests currently in existence may range from 25% to 50% of all clergymen. there are, however, so many other things that bother me about this in addition to the shoot-yourself-in-the-foot factor (isn't there a shortage of priests as it is?).

they want to ban celibate gay priests. if a person doesn't engage in sexual activity to begin with, how can you label them gay or straight?

and if a person trips and has sex with someone in the forest but noone's around to hear them, do they make a sound?

instances of hypocrisy and intolerance just like this are what drove me away from catholicism (my predilection for sleeping late on sundays probably played a role as well). i could write a doctoral thesis in my sleep about contradictions in christianity.

which might be theraputic in actuality, though it would be hard to avoid jokes involving "seminiarians" and "lay ministers".

the article quotes archbishop edwin o'brien (how i wish his name was patrick fitzmichael and his friend's name was michael fitzpatrick. get it?) as saying "...generally speaking, in my experience, the pressures are strong in an all-male atmosphere."

in your experience the pressures are strong... to do what exactly? have you dreamt of frolicking in open fields with supple young altar lads eddie? perhaps involving warm hugs and jakko-esque sleepovers?

projection: accusing others of that which you are guilty of.

does the catholic church now admit that homosexuality is innate? that it is not, in fact, a "disease" that can be cured or prayed away? what about all those evangelical "help centers" for gay people that supposedly treat the "illness"? what about former gays who were "saved" and are now married to mannish women?

is that all now just a bunch of bunk?

i do agree with one evangelical mantra -- there are indeed many, many souls in need of saving. i hope attrition works for them and god (she, he, it, aol, whatever) accepts blind ignorance as an excuse for hatred.