Matt C. Abbott
Seminary, SNAP wrong about homosexual molestation
By Matt C. Abbott
Not surprisingly, there are still some priests and laypersons who assert that homosexuality was and is not a factor in the clergy sex abuse scandal.
I don't know whether to blame political correctness or just plain denial for this misguided notion.
In a recent news story, Father Charles Bouchard, president of Aquinas Institute of Theology, is quoted as saying:
Some people do feel homosexuality would disqualify a student. I hope we can provide evidence that should not be the case.
We don't want to make it look like it's just a question if someone is gay or straight. But whether they have the ability to live celibate and be effective ministers.
I think it might be relevant in as much as that it answers some people's question that possibly there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilea [sic]. I don't think that link exists, so I'm not afraid of that question.
Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is quoted as saying:
They are mixing apples and oranges. A homosexual is not a pedophile. To make this a homosexual issue is just wrong.
A homosexual is no more likely to abuse a child than a heterosexual. This is a smokescreen, a diversion of blame. A way to change the subject. This is not about homosexuality.
Instead of beating down straw men arguments, Bouchard and Dorris would do well to look at the facts, which are well documented in the following essay:
http://www.hli.org/homosexuality_not_molestation.pdf
If you do not have PDF capabilities, the same essay can be found here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1399042/posts
I've plugged the aforementioned essay in a past column, but I feel the need to do so again. So there.
Abortion-Breast Cancer Connection
From Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer:
Take a look at our newly updated brochure, Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Risk. Here's some of the compelling information it contains:
1) Hard-hitting quotes from scientific experts that reveal that the American public is being deceived by the use of fraudulent research to deny the abortion-breast cancer link;
2) A quote from an attorney for a medical group warning doctors that two women have successfully sued their abortion doctors for failing to disclose the risk of breast cancer;
3) Evidence from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that the increased number of breast cancer cases in the U.S. since the mid-1980's has taken place entirely within the Roe v. Wade generation — the generation that had access to legalized abortion; and
4) A statement revealing that at least 59 significant studies since 1963 report a link between abortion and subsequent premature births and that premature birth increases risk of breast cancer in the mother and cerebral palsy in the prematurely born child.
Women have a right to know the truth about the serious risks of abortion. Please look at our updated brochure. Why not purchase a supply of brochures for your local church or crisis pregnancy center? Or you can purchase them for distribution at conferences, cancer walks, etc.
Our new 2005 brochure can be viewed at:
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/brochures/Breast_Cancer_Risk.pdf
© Matt C. Abbott
Not surprisingly, there are still some priests and laypersons who assert that homosexuality was and is not a factor in the clergy sex abuse scandal.
I don't know whether to blame political correctness or just plain denial for this misguided notion.
In a recent news story, Father Charles Bouchard, president of Aquinas Institute of Theology, is quoted as saying:
Some people do feel homosexuality would disqualify a student. I hope we can provide evidence that should not be the case.
We don't want to make it look like it's just a question if someone is gay or straight. But whether they have the ability to live celibate and be effective ministers.
I think it might be relevant in as much as that it answers some people's question that possibly there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilea [sic]. I don't think that link exists, so I'm not afraid of that question.
Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is quoted as saying:
They are mixing apples and oranges. A homosexual is not a pedophile. To make this a homosexual issue is just wrong.
A homosexual is no more likely to abuse a child than a heterosexual. This is a smokescreen, a diversion of blame. A way to change the subject. This is not about homosexuality.
Instead of beating down straw men arguments, Bouchard and Dorris would do well to look at the facts, which are well documented in the following essay:
http://www.hli.org/homosexuality_not_molestation.pdf
If you do not have PDF capabilities, the same essay can be found here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1399042/posts
I've plugged the aforementioned essay in a past column, but I feel the need to do so again. So there.
Abortion-Breast Cancer Connection
From Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer:
Take a look at our newly updated brochure, Abortion Raises Breast Cancer Risk. Here's some of the compelling information it contains:
1) Hard-hitting quotes from scientific experts that reveal that the American public is being deceived by the use of fraudulent research to deny the abortion-breast cancer link;
2) A quote from an attorney for a medical group warning doctors that two women have successfully sued their abortion doctors for failing to disclose the risk of breast cancer;
3) Evidence from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that the increased number of breast cancer cases in the U.S. since the mid-1980's has taken place entirely within the Roe v. Wade generation — the generation that had access to legalized abortion; and
4) A statement revealing that at least 59 significant studies since 1963 report a link between abortion and subsequent premature births and that premature birth increases risk of breast cancer in the mother and cerebral palsy in the prematurely born child.
Women have a right to know the truth about the serious risks of abortion. Please look at our updated brochure. Why not purchase a supply of brochures for your local church or crisis pregnancy center? Or you can purchase them for distribution at conferences, cancer walks, etc.
Our new 2005 brochure can be viewed at:
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/brochures/Breast_Cancer_Risk.pdf
© Matt C. Abbott
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
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