Priest hero of 9-11 was gay?
In response to the news (which is hardly news at all) that homosexual men are not suitable candidates for the seminary and the priesthood, syndicated cartoonist Mark Fiore takes the Church to task with THIS cartoon.
Click HERE to see the animated cartoon.
See also this New York Times article which states in words what Fiore expresses with images.
The presupposition is that NYFD chaplain, Father Mychal Judge, who died ministering to injured and dying fire fighters on September 11, 2001, was a homosexual. And since then, militant homosexuals have been praising Judge as a "gay" saint-hero.
A saint he may have been; God alone knows for sure. But was he 'gay'?
According a good friend of the late priest, Father Mychal Judge was simply a "celibate Catholic priest and nothing more." Dennis Lynch sets the record "straight" and argues that homosexual activists, motivated by a purely self-serving agenda, have smeared the good name of a faithful priest.
HERE is the TRUE STORY about Father Mychal Judge.
Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M.
posted by Quintero at 3:40 PM
4 Comments:
Quintero,
Thank you for posting this excellent piece from Dennis Lynch.
Regarding Father Judge, Dennis wrote:
…Father Mike preached Jesus' message of reconciliation through forgiveness…
I personally don’t know if that’s what Father Judge preached but I do know that Jesus did not preach ‘reconciliation through forgiveness’.
Reconciliation comes through repentance and reformation of life. Without a sincere, firm purpose to amend ones life especially with respect to habitual sins, reconciliation is a sham.
“Neither will I condemn thee, Go, and now sin no more.”(John 8:11 D/R)
I have the priveledge of knowing a priest from Fr. Michael's province who say that they allegations on homosexuality are nonsense.
I too, have to say thank you for printing this.
Dennis Lynch's denial that Fr. Mychal Judge was gay was debunked three years ago. This is an old story. Here's a summary of the facts.
The evidence that Father Mychal Judge was homosexual, though chaste and celibate, is irrefutable.
Dennis Lynch claimed in June, 2002 that Mychal Judge couldn't possibly have been homosexual because he was so saintly a man. Plus Judge had never told Lynch he was gay. That was the extent of Lynch's proof. Lynch charged that gay activists and liberal media had fabricated the story in order to "hijack" Judge's memory to advance a gay agenda.
But soon after Lynch's 2002 article, former FDNY commissioner Tom Von Essen publicly confirmed that Fr. Judge had "come out" to him as gay several years before 9/11, and they had discussed this several times. Von Essen recently reaffirmed this, citing Judge as one reason why the Vatican should not purge good, celibate gay priests.
Then other friends of Judge, including Fr. Brian Carroll and several priests, also confirmed that Mychal had identified himself to them as a gay person. (We're speaking of orientation only; by all accounts he was faithful to his priestly vows).
These are not "homosexual activists" with an "agenda". These are many of Mychal's closest friends bearing witness to a truth he told them about himself.
Then Michael Ford's biography was released in late 2002 ("Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero": Paulist Press). In it, Judge is quoted many times as acknowledging his orientation. For example, "Look at who we are as gay people at this moment in history, being a gift for the church, being agents of change in both church and society."
It's understandable why Judge didn't come out to the Dennis Lynches of the world, with their visceral reactions and deep prejudices. Mychal picked and chose when and to whom to come out. But in the end it's clear that Fr. Mychal Judge was selectively, if not generally, open about his gay orientation and self-identity.
PS: Most important in this story -- Mychal Judge transcended the toxic shame inflicted by Rome on gay people; he came to embrace his gay quality as an inborn, God-given gift. Thus freed to love himself and love God, Mychal achieved extraordinary intimacy with Christ. A true Christ figure in life and in death, he encouraged others to love themselves and each other the way God loves us.
Yes, Mychal's love and ministry touched everyone he encountered, not only gay people. He wasn't so much as "homosexual saint" as he was "a saint who happened to be homosexual" among many, many other things. But to fully appreciate how God worked through Mychal, we must honestly acknowledge this aspect of his life, as he did.
to read more of Mychal Judge, Visit:
http://www.SaintMychal.com
Post a Comment
<< Home