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Anti-Catholic Bigotry
By William T. Barrante, Watertown
Marcel LeRoy not only knows very little about the United States Constitution; he also knows very little about the Roman Catholic Church or the history of Christianity. In his recent piece, "A Biblical Approach" [April 19], he accuses the Catholic Church of going against the Word of God by prohibiting its priests from being married. His article contains one misconception after another.
First, he says, "the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize any authority outside itself." The Church recognizes the authority of God. Jesus established the Church to spread his word and to teach his word. Jesus instructed the Apostles that what they hold bound on earth will be held bound in Heaven; thus the Catholic Church became the authority on the meaning of Christ's teachings.
Second, the requirement of having a celibate clergy does not violate God's laws; Mr. LeRoy is quoting not Jesus but Saint Paul. Jesus told the Apostles that they must leave their families to follow him. Jesus himself was not married. A Catholic priest is "married" to Holy Mother the Church. To call one passage from Saint Paul a "Biblical blueprint" is plainly absurd.
Finally, being married is not going to stop a man from being a pedophile. Pedophilia is a sexual attraction to children by men who are not attracted to women. Mr. LeRoy's answer is no answer, merely an uneducated expression of anti-Catholic bigotry.
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