A VATICAN ban on future writings by an Irish priest other than with
approval from Rome has been described as “unwise” and
“counterproductive” by the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP).
In
an article for the Furrow magazine last March, Father Owen O’Sullivan, a
Capuchin, suggested that homosexuality was “simply a facet of the human
condition”.
Commenting on church teaching that “homosexuality is
unnatural”, he asked whether, if non-procreative sex was wrong, this
also meant “that non-use of genital sexuality, as in celibacy, is
likewise unnatural”.
A distinction “between being homosexual and
doing homosexual acts is phoney”, he said, and that “being and doing are
not as separable in life as they might seem in the lecture hall”.
When
the article appeared, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith contacted Fr O’Sullivan’s Capuchin superiors in Rome with an
instruction that he was no longer to write for publication without
approval.
In a statement yesterday the ACP said it was
“dispiriting and discouraging that an important and necessary
exploration of the interface of theology and pastoral life, as
represented by the writings of Owen O’Sullivan, OFMCap, is now regarded
as unacceptable”.
It said “we should be encouraging and resourcing
discussion, drawing on the experience and wisdom available to our
church” and believed “any effort to stifle such discussion is not only
unwise and illogical but counterproductive in present circumstances”.
It
concluded that “in line with our stated aim to value the experience and
wisdom of God’s people in any discussion of the profound mystery of
human sexuality, we offer our support to our member, Owen O’Sullivan,
OFMCap”.
SIC: IT/IE