Pope Francis has often been touted as one of the more progressive popes in the history of the Catholic Church, but his new book “The Strength of Vocation” offers a less welcoming side to the men who oversee 1.2 billion Catholics across the globe. To curb the decades-old molestation scandal, which targets young boys he is suggesting to ban homosexuals from serving as priests.
The pope says that for one that, engages in homosexuality, it questions their humanity and emotional maturity. He thus sees no place for it in vocational life within the church.
In his book, Pope Francis clearly links homosexuality to child molestation, calling on homosexual priests to leave or be celibate, so as to avoid scandal, suggesting that homosexuals are more prone to engage in child molestation than heterosexuals.
Since the ’70s, there has been a myth that gay men molest children at far higher rates than heterosexuals. In 2010, the Family Research Council claimed “the research is overwhelming that homosexuality poses a (molestation) danger to children.”
The American Psychological Association later debunked this claim, stating that children are not more likely to be molested by LGBT parents or their LGBT friends or acquaintances.
There is an ill-construed theory that the anti-gay activists claim alleging that all men who molest male children should be seen as homosexual. Nicholas Groth, an expert on child molestation, finds that child molestation either stems from fixated or regressive behavior.
“The fixated child molester — the stereotypical pedophile — cannot be considered homosexual or heterosexual because he often finds adults of either sex repulsive and often molests children of both sexes. Regressive child molesters are generally attracted to other adults, but may regress to focusing on children when confronted with stressful situations. The majority of regressed offenders were heterosexual in their adult relationships.”
The Pope and his officers fail to understand this reality, even the ones who criticized the Pope for covering up ongoing sexual misconduct and abuse of children in the Catholic church. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Vatican’s former ambassador, stated that a “homosexual network” existed in the Vatican, whose members helped promote each other’s careers in the church.
Telling homosexuals to leave the priesthood will not fix the horrific sex scandal within the Catholic Church because there is no link between homosexuality and child molestation. This is a black mark in a fairly progressive administration under Pope Francis.
