Is there not a Francis, Cardinal Spellman thread yet?

"Love the drag, Aunt Fran, but your purse is on fire!"

Too depressing even for this place.

Read In the Closet of the Vatican - just came out. Even as a jaded gay ex-Catholic, it was shocking to me how widespread and almost openly gay the Church is. Great PR that has prevented it from being discussed - but the book lays it out and it is really amazing how pervasive and almost intrinsic homosexuality is in the Catholic Church. The celibacy thing is clearly a key driver. But even in today’s “open” culture, the Church has been able to PR their way around the issue. Despite a string of gay Popes. Fascinating read.

Which popes were gay?

[quote]Both Signorile and John Loughery cite a story suggesting that Spellman was sexually active and carrying on a relationship with a male member of the chorus in the Broadway revue One Touch of Venus.

That seems a tad bathetic, no?

Was Spellman known to be a leather daddy on Fire Island?

I know two former priests, one of whom was rather prominent and personally served a pope in Rome. Both are gay.

This is old news. It was common knowledge in gay circles decades ago. It is told he liked the young exotic types. He was asked if he was afraid of being exposed and his response was that no one would believe it.

The pope in Rome.

Spellman couldn’t hold a candle to the two-time Emmy winning flaming queen Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Miss Spellman was notorious amongst NYC cognoscenti.

Fulton Sheen brought fire extinguishers with him to parties...

I have a friend that is a Gay priest. He’s got washboard abs, rides a motorcycle, cute, army veteran. I say, leave them all alone, unless they put too much emphasis on the anti-Gay thing. They do have to toe the party line, but if they go further than that, only then would I complain.

Being my friend, I could see that he’s a person who’s conflicted. I think he should be left alone.

An abortion, Michael!

r12 Is he a "practicing homosexual" or celibate?

I hope he has no need for practicing and has reached proficiency.

It’s not my business, R14, I don’t know, but I believe with no evidence is that he’s practicing.

Some jerk outed him to the Bishop. That’s really awful, because he doesn’t oppress anyone. Your average parish priest isn’t rolling in doe, he doesn’t have a lot of choices/options.

Doe.

And do we look to you, R12, too decide how much emphasis is "too much emphasis on the anti-Gay thing." How much should we endure before you are satisfied? How much time must pass?

I suggest that any of the "anti-Gay thing" is too much. Your friend, the lying cheating priest, is part of the problem and you are, too.

Just look at what you wrote. "...too much emphasis..." Fuck you.

The Vatican book does a good job describing how gay men make good priests. We are often empathetic and caring - social workers, nurses , teachers. Historically have not desired marriage. The priesthood could be a good career choice - except for the hypocrisy of celibacy and homophobia.

The book argues all the recent Popes - including Paul II and especially Benedict - were practicing gays who were adept at working within the hypocrisy. Almost unbelievable even to a committed ex-Catholic like me. But he makes a persuasive case.

The Catholic Church oppresses, by its nature R16.

I want to change my member id to Cardinal Spellcheck.

But my friend is just a pawn. He doesn’t make policy.

Why would a young gay man like your friend become a Catholic priest?, r22? I can see why this might have been something gay men did in the past when being gay was truly difficult, but now that it's accepted, why? It's not like the Catholic faith is one of the areas of society that openly accepts gays -in fact it's one of the few areas of the West which does not accept gayness.

r23 Maybe he became a priest because he's Catholic and wanted to be a priest.

[quote]I have a friend that is a Gay priest. He’s got washboard abs, rides a motorcycle, cute, army veteran. I say, leave them all alone

Because you have a gay priest friend who you find hot??? Christ, you’re shallow as a puddle and self absorbed, too. Do you know they cover up for child rape? That they openly hate women? WTF?

A straight friend of mine left the seminary. He said that there was a lot of "mean girls"-type treatment of the few straight guys there.

Leave it to fucking Datalounge to defend Catholic priests. No doubt you’re all in other threads screeching about “the Transtopo” and Muslims throwing gays of buildings. But homophonic, child-raping, misogynist Catholic priests? “Leave them alone!!”

Self-loathing slime, the lot of you.

R27, One person on this thread is defending his friend, that's it. Keep your drag outfit on.

Organized religion is hog wash.

But the costumes Blanche, the costumes!

and I heard JP II was the straight one?

When I lived in Boston, a hot young Italian American priest hang around my group of friends. He would fuck everything in sight.

I knew a priest who owned an apartment in NYC his parish knew nothing about. That’s where he’d take his dates

Thanks, R28.

I went to confession a few years ago and told the priest I was not confessing being Gay, and he had no problem with that. He gave me absolution anyway. Another priest I went to for confession another time was obviously Gay himself.

The Church has policy, and then it has practice. They’re very different, like life. I think it will come around, like the rest of Western society, eventually.

R33, the different orders have different rules. Some pledge poverty, some not. Instead, my childhood Monsignor drove a Cadillac. I think he was given it. I once read about a priest who wrote books, and was quite wealthy from the book income (it was a fictional novel, but still.).

Growing up I knew a few really wonderful priests & brothers (they were the exception however) - unfortunately for me the instructional corruption of the Church covering up decades of child-rape really has negated any actual good it has done.

When I was in college, I loved dating RC priests.

Dominicans were greasy little bottom pigs. Ankles to Jesus and go for a ride.

Benedictines and Franciscans were tender and loving fucks who were great cooks and threw great parties.

Jesuits were dominating do-me fucks who were wham-bam in the sheets but could hold the most incredible philosophical conversations for post orgasmic pillow talk and breakfast. Intense sex, intense relationships.

This was back in Chicago in the 70s. Good times.

R12 Hey, your religion hates your guts and wants you dead, you self loathing drongo

Well the dreary and the literal have killed this thread.

No, the Catholics have killed and raped a lot more then this thread.

Cardinal Spellman not only dated a chorus boy from "One Touch of Venus" but, if the gossip is to be believed, loved to undress before the boyfriend and then prance around the Archbishop's Residence in the nude pretending he was the goddess Venus (Mary Martin) from that show, singing "I'm A Stranger Here Myself."

Of course Pope Pius XII eventually got wind of it and ended that--not because it was too gay, but because it was too pagan.

J. Edgar Hoover knew Spellman was a homo, and Spellman knew J. Edgar Hoover was a homo and part time drag queen. That's probably why JEH didn't threaten Spellman if he didn't come out against Martin Luther King, Jr., as requested.

Professional courtesy, if you will.

According to a right-wing source I won't bother linking to here, Spellman's nicknames were "Bubbles" and "Franny"

R37 - what about us?

well if you'd wash those holes we'd take a look.

The Wikipedia article is pretty interesting.

[quote]Is there not a Francis, Cardinal Spellman thread yet?

How the hell should I know? He never sucked MY cock.

He wasn't gay, he was married to God

I went to Fordham, of which Spellman was also an alumnus, and there is a residential hall on the campus named after him where the Jesuits live. I recall seeing people protesting outside the school on a couple of occasions regarding some abuse allegations against some of the priests who were living there.

^ Does the Residential Hall have a cruise-y Men's Room? That would be a good way to honor his memory

Who knows, R50. I walked past it often but never went inside. I'm not sure students were allowed in. It has a very nice statue of the Virgin Mary in front of it.