such a loss

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jan 17, 2007

A Diocese of Phoenix priest who took a leave of absence as a consequence of the Vatican's issuance of the Doomsday Doc has decided to leave the priesthood, according to local media:

Carpenter served for more than eight years as pastor of Christ the King parish in Mesa, Ariz. He also was a leader in the gay-advocate group No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice. He was one of nine priests who signed the organization's Phoenix Declaration, which affirmed the right of gay men, lesbians and others to participate in Christian churches.

A visit to the website of No Longer Silent reveals that the justice these clergymen are no longer silent about has little to do, e.g., with admission of minorities to the building trades, and rewards us with an open letter to Bishop Thomas Olmsted by yet another Phoenix priest and declaration signatory, Fr. André Boulanger. He sorely misses the dented-Buick bishopric of Thomas O'Brien:

Church documents refer to homosexuality as an intrinsic disorder, a pathological constitution, a perversion of nature, etc. and claim that homosexual acts are always wrong, always opposite to holiness; objectively sinful. I submit that these claims are based on the best human science that existed 1,500 years ago and beyond. These views have found their way into scripture and official church teachings through the centuries. Yet, the best science that we have to this date tells us that homosexuality is not a disorder or pathology, but that it is a variation in the human sexual expression. A variation among many others. It is not a disease, a disorder or a defect.

The same site displays a photo captioned "André at Gay Pride," which illustrates singularly well the rare sense of dignity, grace, decorum, serene maturity of judgment -- in short, the spiritual fatherhood -- that he may be imagined to bring to the priestly life. It seems that Boulanger has decided also to withdraw from active ministry, which means that Olmsted's obstinacy in the face of the "best human science" has deprived the Church in Arizona of two of its most ... its most innovative preparers of young persons for Confirmation. If you have a minute to spare you might drop Bishop Olmsted a note and let him know what you think of his refusal to follow the path of his obligingly adaptable predecessor.

André at Gay Pride (NLS photo).