Aum Gung Ganapathaye Namah

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa

Homage to The Blessed One, Accomplished and Fully Enlightened

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Pandaka

A Collection of Articles, Notes and References

References

 (Revised: Tuesday, January 11, 2005)

References Edited by

An Indian Tantric

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

- William Shakespeare

Copyright © 2002-2010 An Indian Tantric

The following educational writings are STRICTLY for academic research purposes ONLY.

Should NOT be used for commercial, political or any other purposes.

(The following notes are subject to update and revision)

For free distribution only.
You may print copies of this work for free distribution.

You may re-format and redistribute this work for use on computers and computer networks, provided that you charge no fees for its distribution or use.
Otherwise, all rights reserved.

8 "... Freely you received, freely give”.

            - Matthew 10:8 :: New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,

4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,

7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.                                                                  

8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”

            - 2 Timothy 3:1-9  :: New International Version (NIV)

 

6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

            - Hebrews 5:6 :: King James Version (KJV)

 

Therefore, I say:

Know your enemy and know yourself;

in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.

When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,

your chances of winning or losing are equal.

If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself,

you are sure to be defeated in every battle.

-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500bc

 

There are two ends not to be served by a wanderer. What are these two? The pursuit of desires and of the pleasure which springs from desire, which is base, common, leading to rebirth, ignoble, and unprofitable; and the pursuit of pain and hardship, which is grievous, ignoble, and unprofitable.

- The Blessed One, Lord Buddha

 

Contents

Color Code

A Brief Word on Copyright

References

Educational Copy of Some of the References

 

Color Code

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Color Code                                                               Identification

 

Main Title                                                                  Color: Pink

Sub Title                                                                   Color: Rose

Minor Title                                                                Color: Gray – 50%

 

Collected Article Author                                       Color: Lime

Date of Article                                                          Color: Light Orange

Collected Article                                                      Color: Sea Green

Collected Sub-notes                                              Color: Indigo

 

Personal Notes                                                       Color: Black

Personal Comments                                             Color: Brown

Personal Sub-notes                                              Color: Blue - Gray

 

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Orange

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Lavender

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Aqua

Collected Article Highlight                                    Color: Pale Blue

 

Personal Notes Highlight                                     Color: Gold

Personal Notes Highlight                                     Color: Tan

 

HTML                                                                         Color: Blue

Vocabulary                                                               Color: Violet

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

A Brief Word on Copyright

Many of the articles whose educational copies are given below are copyrighted by their respective authors as well as the respective publishers. Some contain messages of warning, as follows:

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited

without the written consent of “so and so”.

According to the concept of “fair use” in US copyright Law,

The reproduction, redistribution and/or exploitation of any materials and/or content (data, text, images, marks or logos) for personal or commercial gain is not permitted. Provided the source is cited, personal, educational and non-commercial use (as defined by fair use in US copyright law) is permitted.

Moreover,

  • This is a religious educational website.
    • In the name of the Lord, with the invisible Lord as the witness.
  • No commercial/business/political use of the following material.
  • Just like student notes for research purposes, the writings of the other children of the Lord, are given as it is, with student highlights and coloring. Proper respects and due referencing are attributed to the relevant authors/publishers.

I believe that satisfies the conditions for copyright and non-plagiarism.

  • Also, from observation, any material published on the internet naturally gets read/copied even if conditions are maintained. If somebody is too strict with copyright and hold on to knowledge, then it is better not to publish “openly” onto the internet or put the article under “pay to refer” scheme.
  • I came across the articles “freely”. So I publish them freely with added student notes and review with due referencing to the parent link, without any personal monetary gain. My purpose is only to educate other children of the Lord on certain concepts, which I believe are beneficial for “Oneness”.

 

References

Some of the links may not be active (de-activated) due to various reasons, like removal of the concerned information from the source database. So an educational copy is also provided, along with the link.

If the link is active, do cross-check/validate/confirm the educational copy of the article provided along.

  1. If the link is not active, then try to procure a hard copy of the article, if possible, based on the reference citation provided, from a nearest library or where-ever, for cross-checking/validation/confirmation.

 

References

Charita M. Goshay and Botos, Tim. (Sunday, January 12, 2003) Parks and sex a good combination for some men. Canton, Ohio, USA: cantonrep.com, The Repository.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=80033&r=0&Category=11

Jackson, Peter A. Non-normative Sex/Gender Categories in the Theravada Buddhist Scriptures.

http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/AHR/archive/Issue-April-1996/Jacksonref.html

Maddox, Georgina L (Saturday, October 12, 2002) Sexual minorities retie umbilical cord. Mumbai, India: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=32204

Sarah Kershaw. (Friday, April 04, 2003) Cairo cracks down on the gay scene. USA: The New York Times.

http://www.iht.com/articles/92083.html

Smith, Allyson. (Sunday, March 17, 2002) Confab pushes homosexuality in Church. USA: WorldNetDaily.com.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26848

Westerman, Toby. (Sunday, March 24, 2002) 'Gay' culture in Catholic Church grows. USA: WorldNetDaily.com.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26940

 ‘Kids at risk if homosexuality is legalised (Monday, February 03, 2003) India: Express India.

http://www.samachar.com/openbin/redirect?H/20030203/ie_index/3,http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=42701

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Educational Copy of Some of the References

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference

Charita M. Goshay and Botos, Tim. (Sunday, January 12, 2003) Parks and sex a good combination for some men. Canton, Ohio, USA: cantonrep.com, The Repository.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=80033&r=0&Category=11

 

Joe Amico, an addiction specialist and co-chairman of the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, said people look for sex at public places for different reasons.

 

It’s very often people who have very suppressed sexual issues,” he said. “For example, men who are gay who may be married. When they’re seeking anonymous sex, they assume nobody’s going to recognize them.”

 

Amico said that not everyone who engages in such behavior is a sex addict.

 

“If you went to cocktail party on a Friday and saw somebody who was drunk, does that make them an alcoholic?” he asked.

 

Many men who seek sex with other men, Amico added, don’t consider themselves homosexual.

 

“There may be other issues in which people use sex to deal with it,” he said. “Some people use sex as a way to deal with stress, or to numb their pain.”

(Reference: Charita M. Goshay and Botos, Tim. (Sunday, January 12, 2003) Parks and sex a good combination for some men. Canton, Ohio, USA: cantonrep.com, The Repository.)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference

Maddox, Georgina L (Saturday, October 12, 2002) Sexual minorities retie umbilical cord. Mumbai, India: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=32204

 

Sexual minorities retie umbilical cord

 

Georgina L Maddox

Mumbai, October 11: RECLAIMING their local identities, sharing tales of oppression, of hope and hot cups of tea, the speakers all had a story to tell, at the lectern and also during the break. On the first day of the three-day, first ever International Lesbian and Gay (ILGA) Asian regional conference A to Z - The Other Asia, 80 delegates registered, with a significantly higher attendance of women’s groups than in other mixed conferences.

 

Organised by the Humsafar Trust and Aanchal, the delegates have come from countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand Nepal and India. The agenda for the conference is to help groups and individuals remain rooted in their local cultures while enhancing their visibility.

 

being a historical event for Asian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) groups, it was unfortunate that many Indian organisations did not attend. Said Betu Singh, a founder member of Sangini, a support group for lesbian and bisexual women in Delhi: ‘‘I was hoping more groups from India would participate. But I’m happy with the way things are going at the conference so far.’’

 

Rosanna Falmer-Calder, a female representative of ILGA Asia and co-ordinator for Women’s Support Group in Sri Lanka, was very positive. ‘‘Our very presence at this conference marks a turning point for the Asian scenario,’’ she asserted, adding that the scenario in Sri Lanka is not very different, be it law or health issues.

 

Most discussions underlined the importance of relocating one’s identity in the regional. ‘‘We are quite envious of India, since it has retained its rich culture and diversity,’’ said Anna Leah Saradia De Leon, Secretary General of ILGA. She added, ‘‘In the Philippines, so many skilled persons are economically dependent on the West. Western culture permeates so much of our local environment that many people have migrated for lucrative jobs.’’ Anna Leah, who has visited India several times, emphasised that despite their cultural richness, there are multiple stigmas that Indian and Asian LGBT groups face. ‘‘Which is why this conference is so important. We hope to be able to talk more about AIDS-related issues so that the stigma associated with it is addressed. Being a woman already means that you are a second class citizen. One has to first clear that hurdle before talking about being an Asian lesbian who needs health care,’’ she said.

 

Shelly Kaw of the UNIFEM Global Programme on Gender, HIV and AIDS agreed with her. Shyam, an HIV-positive patient from Tamil Nadu, pointed out that the level of social ignorance of the disease is high. ‘‘People expected me to have sores and falling hair. A common comment was that I don’t look like an AIDS patient. The divide between the north and the south is so high that it is very difficult to network or get help,’’ he said.

 

Laxmi, a hijra from the Dai Welfare Society, spoke about reclaiming the word ‘hijra’. ‘‘Western terminologies like ‘transgendered’ do not echo my communities’ sentiments. In fact, this community has existed since mythological times when they were known as kinaras. Being a hijra is being part of Indian soil.’’ Sakira a transgendered male to female from Malaysia, also pointed out that the dominant religion in Malaysia is Semitic, so the acceptance level of trasgendered people is high.

 

NRI Sandeep Roy, editor of the Trikone magazine, spoke of many Asians seaking asylum in the USA. ‘‘But it’s like cutting the umbilical cord. Post 7/11, even that option is being lost. Interrogation, deportation and violence have risen for most LGBTs who once had a safe space.’’

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Personal Note

  1. Being a woman already means that you are a second class citizen.
    1. One has to first clear that hurdle before talking about being an Asian lesbian who needs health care.
  2. Shyam, an HIV-positive patient from Tamil Nadu, pointed out that the level of social ignorance of the disease is high.
    1. ‘‘People expected me to have sores and falling hair.
    2. A common comment was that I don’t look like an AIDS patient.
    3. The divide between the north and the south is so high that it is very difficult to network or get help.
  3. Western terminologies like ‘transgendered’ do not echo my communities’ sentiments.
    1. In fact, this community has existed since mythological times when they were known as kinaras.
    2. Being a hijra is being part of Indian soil.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference (Key points only)

Kershaw, Sarah. (Friday, April 04, 2003) Cairo cracks down on the gay scene. USA: The New York Times.

http://www.iht.com/articles/92083.html

 

Homosexuality is not explicitly outlawed in Egypt. Those arrested have been charged with debauchery, a section of the penal code that is rooted in Islamic law and has been used to prosecute gay Egyptians.

They were all ordered to pull down their pants and show their underwear, as officers from the government's Vice Squad told them that colored underwear was evidence of homosexuality, they said. All were wearing white underwear

Still, Nabil Osman, a government spokesman, said homosexuality was "sharp contradiction with our religious values."

 

He added: "You are allowing homosexuality abroad. It is not accepted here, and everybody should accept that what is good for America or for Europe may not be good for another place."

All of the convicted men were also sentenced to three years' probation, meaning that they must either stay under house arrest at night or report to a police station at 6 p.m. every day and stay there until 6 a.m. for a time equal to their jail sentence.

While he dreads returning to jail, being branded a homosexual weighs more heavily.

 

"Our future is just gone," he said. "There is no tomorrow for me."

"We all knew it was a bit dangerous to go to the Internet."

(Reference: Kershaw, Sarah. (Friday, April 04, 2003) Cairo cracks down on the gay scene. USA: The New York Times.)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference

Smith, Allyson. (Sunday, March 17, 2002) Confab pushes homosexuality in Church. USA: WorldNetDaily.com.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26848

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Confab pushes homosexuality in Church

'Gay' ministry blames hierarchy for child sex-abuse cases

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: March 17, 2002

1:00 a.m. Eastern

 

By Allyson Smith

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

 

As priest molestation scandals explode throughout the U.S. Catholic Church – most notably in Boston, where the archdiocese recently settled over 80 civil suits against a single priest for up to $30 million – a "gay-positive" Catholic ministry has called for further promotion of homosexuality in Catholic institutions, including schools, parishes and seminaries.

 

Pro-gay Catholic speakers and workshop leaders, including two U.S. bishops, offered ideas for creating a more homosexual-inclusive Church at the New Ways Ministry Fifth National Symposium, titled "Out of Silence God Has Called Us," March 8-10 at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky.

 

New Ways Ministry was founded in 1977 by Sister Jeannine Gramick and Rev. Robert Nugent. It was the subject of a 20-year Vatican investigation until 1999, when the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith permanently banned Gramick and Nugent from "any pastoral work involving homosexual persons." However, New Ways claims that the censure does not apply to the ministry itself.

 

Nugent is now doing parish and adult education work. Sister Gramick transferred to the Sisters of Loretto and continues to speak and write about homosexuality and church reform. She attended the Louisville conference but did not speak or conduct any workshops.

 

During his Friday night opening plenary speech, Eugene Kennedy, a former Maryknoll priest and professor emeritus of psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, blamed the problem of priest molestation on an abusive Church hierarchy that prevents religious from developing a mature sexuality.

 

"In the sexual abuse of the children, we observe a pattern that is identical to that with which the organizational Church has used and still uses in relating to its people," said Kennedy. "Many of these priests who victimized the young were themselves victims when young. Many, perhaps most of them, were neither heterosexual or homosexual, but rather asexual – that is, immature in their human development – children themselves who live ... in seminaries and novitiates that have kept them underdeveloped through programs in which the divided model of personality is efficiently and rigorously enforced."

 

Kennedy added, "We might say that the sexual abuse of children is a symptom of the human abuse of adults refined and practiced by ecclesiastical bureaucrats over the centuries."

 

Creating homosexual-friendly Catholic schools

 

During a focus session titled "Catholic Schools and Gay/Lesbian Youth," Lou Ann Tighe, a gay-straight alliance moderator at Creighton-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., asserted, "We have a crisis today among students who are gay and lesbian – and I'm going to say bisexual and transgendered too – in our Catholic schools. This crisis is not based on confusion or ignorance about Roman Catholic teaching on homosexuality. I believe we teach it clearly, and the students understand it very well," but "with so much attention on the regulation of homosexual behavior, too little attention has been given to listening to the pain in their hearts."

 

Tighe gave the following suggestions for creating homosexual-welcoming Catholic classrooms:

 

 

Listen to (gay and lesbian) students "unconditionally."

 

"Have cues in your environment that suggest inclusion," such as posters and symbols.

 

Establish student groups that educate students, faculty and other groups.

 

Don't use labels such as "gay" or "lesbian." However, said Tighe, "If the kids 'self-label,' then we need to be very solicitous and protecting of them."

 

Encourage teachers to select books that have gay and lesbian characters in them.

 

Eliminating 'heterosexist' parishes

 

At a session on "Challenging Heterosexism in Parishes," professor Helen Deines of Spalding University in Kentucky asked participants to name signs of heterosexism in parishes. Among the examples given were Mother's Day and Father's Day celebrations, the absence of gay and lesbian members and the sacrament of Baptism.

 

Deines offered several tips for increasing the visibility of homosexuals within Catholic churches, including:

 

 

Build safe spaces.

 

Craft a "principled consensus statement of inclusion."

 

Increase personal contact with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons by bringing in speakers such as an "out gay priest," "a PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) mom" and homosexual partners in committed relationships.

 

Challenging 'stereotypes' about 'lesbian sisters'

 

In a focus session titled "Lesbian Women in Religious Life," Janet Rozzano, a Sister of Mercy from Oakland, Calif., spoke about the need for religious communities to challenge "harmful stereotypes and misconceptions" about lesbian nuns, such as:

 

 

Lesbians are always sexually active.

 

A lesbian sister always has sex on her mind and is likely to try to proposition other sisters; therefore, they are not well-suited to religious life.

 

It is sinful to be a lesbian.

 

We don't want or need [lesbians] in our community.

 

Women who are friends with lesbians are probably lesbian themselves.

 

If lesbian sisters are more open, people will think all [sisters] are lesbians.

On Saturday night, approximately 50 nuns met to discuss New Ways' "Womanjourney Weavings at the Millennium" project, the purpose of which is to help "religious communities of women understand and integrate their lesbian members more fully."

 

One of the discussion leaders was Sandra Yost, a Sister of Saint Joseph and associate professor at the University of Detroit, Mercy. Yost and the university came under fire last month from the American Family Association of Michigan for sponsoring a screening of the X-rated film "Eyes of Desire" as part of a discussion series on "Feminist Pornography."

 

At a Friday pre-symposium conference for parents of homosexual children and pastoral ministers, Detroit Bishop Thomas Gumbleton told parents, "The first thing that I think needs to be said that's very, very important if we're going to love our children is simply to recognize that homosexual people are not disordered people. They are psychologically healthy people. ... Homosexuals are as healthy as anyone else."

 

Gumbleton added, "Homosexuals are able to function and grow at least as well as heterosexuals. They are able to be creative, put in a hard day's work, act as citizens, help their neighbor. Somewhat surprisingly, they make love more humanely, largely because they are better able empathetically to feel what their partner is feeling."

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity."

 

However, the Catechism also states: "Homosexual acts [are] acts of grave depravity," and "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."

 

The future of Catholic homosexual activism

 

At a closing plenary session on Sunday morning, New Ways Ministry presented a 12-point statement on "Lesbian/Gay Ministry in the Catholic Church: A Vision for the Future" to be read at the annual meeting of U.S. bishops this fall in Washington, D.C.

 

The statement calls upon "Church leaders at all levels to pledge to find new ways to communicate the truth of Christ to lesbian/gay people," including:

 

 

Developing educational programs "that reflect accurate images of gay/lesbian people."

 

Fostering "a climate among young people that is knowledgeable and respectful of lesbian/gay reality."

 

Providing "supportive work atmospheres so that lesbian/gay Church personnel – clergy, lay, religious – can disclose their sexual orientations to colleagues and constituents, if they so choose."

 

Providing "educational and personal/spiritual development programs for gay/lesbian priests, religious, seminarians, and candidates."

 

Asking that "all Catholics and people of good will respect and celebrate the diversity of people with which God has blessed us."

 

Conference organizers disobey Vatican

 

In January, Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith secretary Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone wrote to Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville requesting that he forbid Mass to be celebrated as part of the Fifth National Symposium.

 

"New Ways Ministry does not promote the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church," wrote Bertone, citing "the confusion and scandal which will inevitably arise from this event." As an alternative, Kelly invited participants to attend one of the regularly scheduled Masses at the nearby archdiocesan Cathedral of the Assumption.

 

New Ways Ministry issued a statement that it would go ahead with the Mass as planned, citing canon law and the Vatican II document "Lumen Gentium" as justification. The statement said that conference endorsers "were deeply angered and disturbed that the CDF would use the Eucharist as a weapon or reward." On Saturday evening, retired Bishop Leroy Matthiesen of Amarillo, Texas, celebrated Mass wearing a rainbow stole on a ballroom stage decorated with rainbow banners. The rainbow has become a universal symbol of the homosexual advocacy movement.

 

Several conference attendees were overheard denouncing remarks made in a March 3 New York Times interview by Pope John Paul II's spokesman, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who questioned whether ordinations of homosexuals were even valid.

 

"People with these inclinations just cannot be ordained," said Navarro-Valls. "That does not imply a final judgment on people with homosexuality. But you cannot be in this field."

 

Michael S. Rose, author of "Goodbye! Good Men: How Catholic Seminaries Turned Away Two Generations of Vocations From the Priesthood," told WorldNetDaily, "Considering that a gay subculture has dominated many U.S. seminaries for the past three decades, it seems rather bold – even while illogical – for gay pressure groups to press for more 'acceptance' of the gay agenda inside the places where Catholic priests are supposed to be formed according to Christ.

 

"The fact is that homosexual promiscuity and homosexual harassment are rampant in many seminaries," said Rose. "This in itself, not to mention other factors, drives many good, holy, orthodox men away from the seminaries and their vocations to the priesthood. The results, as recent news reports and court documents evidence, are now obvious."

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Allyson Smith is a freelance reporter based in San Diego.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference

Westerman, Toby. (Sunday, March 24, 2002) 'Gay' culture in Catholic Church grows. USA: WorldNetDaily.com.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26940

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUFFER THE CHILDREN

'Gay' culture in Catholic Church grows

Priest says scandal really about homosexuality, not pedophilia

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: March 24, 2002

1:00 a.m. Eastern

 

By Toby Westerman

© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com

 

A "gay" culture is growing among clergy of the American Catholic Church that receives support from members of the hierarchy as well as from those directly involved in the training of priests, according to a Catholic priest-theologian.

 

As the scandal of clerical abuse within the Catholic Church in the U.S. continues to grow – whose cost is estimated to approach $1 billion – the role of the hierarchy is coming under scrutiny.

 

With nearly one in four Americans counting themselves as Catholic, the burgeoning crisis of sexual abuse by the Church's clergy directly impacts American society and family values. While the number of priests and bishops involved in abuse remains unknown, it is reliably estimated to be no more than 2 percent of the total in the U.S.

 

In an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily, an influential Catholic priest, author and lecturer opens up the murky underworld of the homosexual clergy, its recruiters and its protectors.

 

The Rev. Charles Fiore, a Catholic priest for 42 years, has fought the homosexual influence in the clergy almost from the date of his ordination. With degrees in philosophy and theology, as well as clinical training at Menninger's and the State Hospital in Topeka, Kan., Fiore has both condemned the actions of homosexual priests and counseled the victims of their abuse.

 

Originally ordained a Dominican priest in 1961, Fiore's primary duties involved college-level teaching in various Catholic institutions in the United States, as well as at the Dominican Pontifical University, the Angelicum, in Rome. He also was an early pro-life leader and home-schooling advocate.

 

Fiore was a close friend of priest/author Malachi Martin and supplied Martin with significant material for his later works. Having appeared on radio and network television, Fiore has written numerous articles concerning clerical abuse.

 

Prolonged illness, however, has curtailed most of Fiore's activities.

 

Although gratified that the U.S. media is addressing the issue of clerical abuse, Fiore takes issue with how the problem is being presented to the public, questioning the use of the term "pedophilia."

 

"The problem is not clerical pedophilia," Fiore told WND, "but homosexuality." The distinction is important, Fiore noted, because most victims of Catholic clergy abuse are adolescents.

 

"Strictly speaking," Fiore stated, "pedophilia is the sexual molestation of a pre-pubescent child of either sex," but the overriding problem is the abuse of older children from 12 to 18. "More than 90 percent of the cases," Fiore observed, "involve the clerical molestation of teen-age young men."

 

In reporting clerical abuse, "the grand taboo in U.S. culture is to focus on homosexuality," Fiore stated.

 

"Pedophilia is done only by an aberrant few," but society "looks upon homosexuality as an alternative way of life," explained Fiore.

 

His introduction to how some cases of clerical child abuse are handled came early on in Fiore's priesthood.

 

He related that in his first assignment, while teaching in a college and living in a parish, he found himself scheduling altar boys for the week's services, since the priest who usually performed the task was on vacation.

 

While directing the servers, a group of three boys approached Fiore and complained of the other priest's behavior, describing various forms of inappropriate touching.

 

In turn, Fiore and another priest relayed the altar boys' complaints to the pastor and suggested that the miscreant priest be questioned and possibly removed from contact with the boys.

 

Fiore recalled the pastor telling him to "mind your own business," and Fiore responding, "It is my business; it's the business of all of us."

 

The matter was referred to the Dominican provincial superior, resulting in the offending priest's transfer – to an all-boys school in another state – and the transfer of the young priests who related the altar boys' complaints, while the pastor who demanded silence over the issue remained in his position.

 

Later in his career, Fiore observed the tactics of one Monsignor Edward Egan, who once served as an assistant to John Cardinal Cody in Chicago.

 

Egan, currently Cardinal Archbishop of New York, is surrounded by accusations of clerical abuse against a number of priests. While now expressing willingness to cooperate with authorities, as archbishop of Bridgeport, Conn., Egan, according to a report in the Hartford Courant, sought to deflect responsibility for homosexual activity of certain priests by claiming they were "independent contractors."

 

Under Cody in Chicago, Egan had been informally known as the Cardinal's "hatchet man," Fiore said. When parents of victims charged molestation and threatened to sue, Egan would warn the parents that the archdiocese was ready to fight them in court.

 

Fiore also said that he personally knew of many instances where families collapsed due to the strain from such tactics, and family members left the Church in disgust.

 

Having counseled close to 100 victims of clerical abuse, and after he wrote on the topic, Fiore was contacted by victims and their families regarding their own experience with abusive priests and allegedly indifferent bishops.

 

Ultimately, Fiore left the Dominican Order in 1992 and, with the permission of Vatican authorities, joined a group of priests dedicated to the traditional form of the Mass, as well as strict observance of Church teaching on theology and morality.

 

The role of bishops

 

As the accusations of the guilt or complicity of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy continues to grow, attention is focusing upon some of the most powerful bishops in America – both living and dead.

 

While Cardinal Law of Boston and Egan of New York are in the glare of media attention after charges of abuse in their dioceses became public, another media investigation is quietly proceeding into the activities of other bishops who worked closely with the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago.

 

In 1993, an admittedly active homosexual, Stephen Cook, accused Bernardin of sexually abusing him when he was a seminarian in Cincinnati. Although Cook subsequently dropped his suit against Bernardin, stating that he could "no longer trust his memory," Cook nevertheless did not recant his allegations.

 

Nine months before his death in September 1994 from AIDS, Cook was visited by Bernardin, who wrote about the meeting in the Chicago archdiocese newspaper, the New World. He took the highly unusual step of giving Cook – a man Bernardin earlier claimed he had never met – the chalice with which he said Mass. The gift was especially odd in that Cook never renounced his homosexual activities. At one point, Cook declared that "the Church will change before I will."

 

According to traditional Catholic belief, if Cook died unrepentant, he would place himself outside of Christ's mercy.

 

A media investigation currently is looking not only into allegations concerning Bernardin's relationship with Cook but also alleged homosexual liaisons with other bishops and seminarians, WorldNetDaily has learned.

 

Although the hierarchy has only reluctantly begun to come to terms with homosexuality in the clergy, members of the laity have fought instances of clerical abuse for years.

 

One of the leading lay Catholic organizations seeking to expose and eliminate clerical abuse is Roman Catholic Faithful in Petersburg, Ill., near Springfield.

 

The organization's founder, Steven Brady, says his group, which has been in existence since 1996, succeeded in forcing the resignation in 1999 of the bishop of Springfield, Ill., Daniel Ryan, over charges of overt homosexual activities and sexually abusive behavior.

 

Ryan denies any wrongdoing, but his resignation claiming ill health immediately followed a threatened suit by Roman Catholic Faithful. Although he resigned his position as bishop of Springfield, Ryan is known to continue to publicly act as a bishop at certain functions in the state of Illinois, an act that requires the permission of at least one of his brother bishops.

 

Regarding the current publicity given to clerical abuse, Brady said he hopes the media exposure "keeps going" because it "is the only way issues will be addressed." He congratulated the media for being "more willing [than in the past] to cover these stories."

 

Pope throws up his hands

 

Despite the Catholic Church's traditional ban on homosexual activity, the "gay" culture within the Church has its apologists.

 

Rev. Donald Cozzens, former rector at the Archdiocese of Cleveland seminary, suggested in his 2000 book, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood," that each bishop should determine what percentage of homosexuals priests would be acceptable in his diocese.

 

In addition, the term "celibacy" has taken on an entirely different meaning in some seminaries from the traditional understanding of the word.

 

Some seminary professors and students hold "celibacy" refers only to being unmarried, but not necessarily refraining from sexual activity.

 

Because the Catholic Church is a "top-down" organization, lead by an unelected, appointed hierarchy, the question arises: What did the pope know, and when did he know it?

 

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. bishops and the Vatican had noted a growing problem with clerical abuse in the U.S. as the number of such incidents increased and the number of priests sent for therapy due to their abusive behavior grew.

 

The extent of the problem of priest-abusers was further clarified by a report commissioned by the bishops and the Apostolic Delegate (Papal representative) to the U.S., Archbishop (now Cardinal) Pio Laghi.

 

In the early 1990s, a group of priests, including Fiore, assembled a dossier on ecclesiastical problems in the U.S. The information was carefully collected and documented with guidance on Church law given by the Rev. Alfred Kunz, a canon lawyer.

 

Kunz also assisted in the founding of Roman Catholic Faithful. In 1998, Kunz was mysteriously murdered, and the police thus far have been unable to make any conclusive progress toward solving the murder. Fiore described Kunz as "having no enemies – except those who hated the Church."

 

According to Fiore, the dossier was sent by courier to Rome. The courier was a Polish-speaking priest and a friend of Pope John Paul II's personal secretary, then-Monsignor, now Archbishop, Stanislaus Dsiewicz.

 

Dsiewicz brought the file to the pope's attention. The pope briefly examined the documents, Fiore says, put them aside and then, referring to his previous attempts to lead and discipline the bishops regarding various issues, exclaimed, "I've told them, and they don't listen to me."

 

John Paul II, in effect, admitted that the U.S. bishops did not properly lead the Catholic Church in America.

 

What the pope found difficult to effectively confront – the exposure of clerical abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church – the U.S. media is now carrying out. Any remedy to the crisis of clerical abuse in America will be extremely painful – and costly.

 

Many Catholic bishops and faithful priests in the United States will have to "put on sackcloth and ashes – and do what's right," Fiore observed.

 

Fiore responded to the often-posed assertion that the solution to clerical abuse is a married clergy. "That's not the issue," Fiore stated, saying that in his private counseling he encountered victims of abuse at the hands of married Protestant and Jewish clergy, as well as by married, non-clerical men.

 

"The highest instance of sexual abuse," Fiore noted, "is among white, Anglo-Saxon, married males – and the victims [of sexual abuse] are primarily their own children."

 

Instead of relaxing traditional Church teaching on celibacy, Fiore demanded a greater – and more faithful – emphasis on the virtue of chastity, which calls for observance of Church law concerning sexuality as it pertains to one's calling in life – priest, married or single lay person.

 

In response to Cozzens, Fiore said that the ranks of priests and seminarians should be "zero percent" homosexuals, and he urged careful formation and guidance of seminarians by seminary personnel faithful to Church teaching.

 

Finally, it is the ultimate responsibility of Catholic bishops to certify the moral rectitude of those they ordain to the priesthood, Fiore stated.

 

When WorldNetDaily asked Fiore if he ever received payment for his counseling services, he said, "Yes, once – and only once. I split a dozen brownies with one of my young clients, whose mom had baked them for me."

 

Related story:

 

Bush's 'soul reading' irks priest

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily and editor/publisher of International News Analysis Today.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reference

‘Kids at risk if homosexuality is legalised (Monday, February 03, 2003) India: Express India.

http://www.samachar.com/openbin/redirect?H/20030203/ie_index/3,http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=42701

 

Express News Service

New Delhi, February 2: INFORMATION and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said that homosexuality should not be legalised as it would increase the sexual abuse of street children.

 

 

Speaking at an open house discussion organised by NGO Prayas, Prasad said: ‘‘Unnatural carnal offences have no legitimacy on the grounds of fundamental liberties and human rights. Our individual behaviour is subjected to social morality, social conditions and social behaviour.’’

 

Prayas will be sending a plea to Law Minister Arun Jaitely ‘‘on behalf of the street children at risk’’.

 

The Minister criticised the case filed by NAZ Foundation to legalise homsexuality and amend Article 377 of the Constitution, which makes sex between men illegal.

 

The Foundation, which works on AIDS, had filed a case last year to amend the Article on ‘‘unnatural sexual acts’’, arguing that it was a human rights violation against the sexual minority.

 

Naz Foundation members said that countries all over the world had recognised the rights of the gay community but India was yet to do so.

 

Social workers working with Naz said that people kept their homosexuality under wraps because it’s illegal. This was preventing them from extending the AIDS campaign to the community. ‘‘The police exploits Article 377 to put gay people behind the bars and abuse them,’’ said a Foundation worker.

 

Amod Kanth, Joint Commissioner of Police and Prayas general secretary, said those below 18 years and living on the streets are often subjected to violence and sexual abuse. At least 20 per cent of the street children have been sexually abused. ‘‘Boys are often abused by men, belying the perception that the male child is safe,’’ said Kanth.

 

Prof. S.D. Sharma of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences said very few people are gay — 2.7 per cent men and 1.3 per cent women. Homosexuality, he said, was considered a disease till 1990 in the United States. Research had showed that homosexuality resulted in more suicides, alcoholism and an increased risk of HIV/AIDS.

 

Shaleen Rakesh of Naz Foundation, however, pointed out that the rights of homosexuals are now openly recognised and accepted in the United States and it was the ‘‘stigma related to AIDS rather than the disease which may be lead to suicides or alcohol abuse’’.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

http://in.geocities.com/anindiantantric/pandaka.html

 

Published on internet: Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Revised: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

 

Information on the web site is given in good faith about a certain spiritual way of life, irrespective of any specific religion, in the belief that the information is not misused, misjudged or misunderstood. Persons using this information for whatever purpose must rely on their own skill, intelligence and judgment in its application. The webmaster does not accept any liability for harm or damage resulting from advice given in good faith on this website.

                                                                                   

Back to An Indian Tantric Homepage Index

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Thou belongest to That Which Is Undying, and not merely to time alone,” murmured the Sphinx, breaking its muteness at last. “Thou art eternal, and not merely of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be killed, cannot die. It waits, shroud-wrapped, in thy heart, as I waited, sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself, O mortal! For there is One within thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the bar and bears witness that there IS a God!

(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962) A Search in Secret Egypt. (17th Impression) London, UK: Rider & Company. Page: 35.)

Amen

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1