wearing the uniform

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Nov 29, 2005

A Catholic pastor in Arizona has resigned in protest over the Vatican directive on homosexuality in the seminaries.

"It's like a Jew wearing a Nazi uniform," Walker said. "I could no longer stay in that institution with any amount of integrity."

Since he's 58 years old, Walker has presumably been "wearing the uniform" for a few decades now. During that time, the Church's teaching on homosexuality changed not one whit. So it's odd that he's just now noticing a conflict between those teachings and his views.

But when he finally did notice, he certainly stomped down hard on the rhetorical accelerator, reaching immediately for the comparison between the Catholic Church and the Third Reich. It almost makes you wonder:

1. If today he's comparing Catholic teaching with Nazi ideology, what sort of comparisons do you suppose he was making last week, in his homilies to the faithful of Queen of Peace parish? Do you think he was portraying the Church as the spotless Bride of Christ?
2. If he was even beginning to think of the Church as a morally repugnant institution like the Nazi regime, why did he delay his exit until now? Under what circumstances would it be possible for a Jew to wear a Nazi uniform-- unless he was acting as a spy?
3. How did a priest with this much latent hostility toward the magisterium get to be a pastor of souls? Do you think perhaps in past years the former Bishop of Phoenix, and perhaps the former vicar general, were distracted by other matters?