Your gift counts double until 5/31: $27,385 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!
 Off the Record

Sometimes you catch them when they are talking about something else

By Diogenes (articles ) | September 19, 2005 10:44 PM

Buried in this article about the Vatican evaluation of seminaries, you will find this intruiguing admission from Rev. James Wehner, rector of St. Paul Seminary in East Carnegie; an admission not usually heard when the subject is women's ordination or church attendance:

"Eighty percent of the church is run by women..."

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($27,385 to go):
$80,000.00 $52,614.70
34% 66%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 7 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: Pseudodionysius - Sep. 21, 2005 2:00 PM ET USA

    Headlines we'd like to see: "Getting drunk and yelling racist or anti-semitic remarks does not mean that the seminary candidate is racist or anti-semitic" "Getting drunk and yelling Praise Allah does not mean...."

  • Posted by: - Sep. 20, 2005 2:08 PM ET USA

    And even if getting drunk and engaging in homosexual behavior does not mean you are a homosexual, someone who engages in that sort of behavior should not be in the seminary.

  • Posted by: - Sep. 20, 2005 12:44 PM ET USA

    Good point Abraham, I found that strange too. I can't imagine a healthy heterosexual man getting drunk and . . . going after another man (or boy)? Drink may weaken one's ability to resist temptation, but I don't think it creates totally new temptations.

  • Posted by: Abraham Tolemahcs - Sep. 20, 2005 10:28 AM ET USA

    What I found even more disturbing is Wehners attempt to excuse a man who "has too much to drink" and then engages in a "perversion" but that does not mean he's gay??? On the contrary. Alcohol generally reduces our inhibitions so I would argue that someone who gets drunk & does a little homosexual experimentation does have homosexual tendencies & has no business being a seminarian. If this same man becomes a drunk priest and puts the moves on an adolescent boy it's too late to say "Oops."

  • Posted by: Canismater - Sep. 20, 2005 9:05 AM ET USA

    If only the "ma" in dogma was the 80% of the female presence in the Church. Maybe this is a cry for help. In case you haven't been in the administration of the church in the US lately, like the USCCB, you'll find that as far as the eye can see there are women religious who are too qualified to be in the classroom and have an (under)hand in running the show. Do a survey as to how many women are involved with formation/admissions of seminaries and diaconate programs. Are there priests in convents?

  • Posted by: Pseudodionysius - Sep. 20, 2005 12:08 AM ET USA

    I noticed that as well. Looks like the she priest is out of the bag.

  • Posted by: Fr. William - Sep. 19, 2005 11:23 PM ET USA

    The Church doesn't need any more reasons to ban homosexuals from the seminaries, for the Church's Teaching is clear about the matter: homosexuality is a grave disorder; therefore no homosexuals, no gays in seminaries. But, sure, here's one more reason: With "80 percent of the Church run by women," we certainly don't need men acting like women or playing the part of women. In this "Visitation," may the Church just clean the stables, close some seminaries, & strengthen the few that remain.

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The Mystery of the Spirit 4 hours ago
Against a Facile Assurance of Salvation, the Need for Mystery 5 hours ago
Making Sense of Society: The Ebook 11 hours ago
An exorcism? No, a blessing. You'd think reporters would know the difference. 13 hours ago
Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child May 17

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8