Women’s rights and gay rights activists interrupted the annual meeting of U.S. Catholic bishops over the weekend, demanding a change to the Church’s stance on women ordination and gay Christians. According to the Washington Post, Janice Sevre-Duszynska of the Women’s Ordination Conference cut short the meeting, asking the bishops to address “the wrong done to women called by God to ordination.” The Catholic Church does not ordain women as priests, despite the recent “graying of the priesthood” with older priests dying and fewer men being ordained.
Gay rights protestors raised the issue of the Church’s hypocritical stance on homosexuality, pointing out that the Church condemns all forms of violence and discrimination against gays and lesbians, but uses violence inducing language when teaching that homosexuals are “intrinsically disordered.”
Hypocrisy dominates in other areas concerning homosexuality and the Catholic Church. According to a recent study by the Kansas City Star, the number of priests who have died of AIDS related illnesses is growing. The AIDS death rates in priests is more than twice that of all adult males and more than six times that of the general population. Despite this fact and emerging discussions about the need for the Church to examine the issues of sexuality, celibacy and safe sex, the Vatican continues to disregard any open conversation about sexuality.
