69 Comments

• ThomasSharkey | Apr 13, 2012, 08:00 AM EDT

  Well, to tell the truth being a catholic nowadays is no recommendation. Being gay, however, is. To 'stand up' and say: "I am a homosexual", takes a lot of courage. On the other hand... I am bisexual, and I have made my choice. One wife and three kids later and I've never 'known' anybody else, meaning I have only had sex with a female (more than one actually). Everyone, believe it or not, is bisexual. You will realise the truth in this statement after being marooned on a desert island for three or more years with a number of your own sex. Sexual preference is a matter of choice. For some, it is easy to choose, for others, difficult. Some, the ignorant, are even puzzled as to why they find someone of the same sex suddenly attractive and wish to, er, kiss them. I fear no-one, not even if he or she is poiniting a gun at me, and when I'm dead, I'm dead. There is no god, no devil, no heaven and no hell. Hell is here on earth and heaven is what you make it. Religion! Man's (and woman's) worst invention. The best ones are the scissors and the bycycle.

• jerryoneill | Dec 02, 2011, 12:21 PM EST

  Oh Danny Boy, it seems that your case to indict the devil is fruitless(Oops)Me thinks you should be after all of the holy versions of Father knows Best which have cost the church millions and millions and millions of dollars that could have been better used to help those who could have used Mother church's help. Now if you are a priest playing patty fingers with children is that the devil at work or as it seems just another Holy Day of subjugation.

• MarkMary73 | Nov 14, 2011, 04:12 PM EST

  Yet just one more reason why I'm no longer a Catholic.

• racallahan | Nov 09, 2011, 02:13 PM EST

  I guess I missed something during all those years in Catholic school. I thought only God had the power to create???!!!

• eiriamach | Nov 09, 2011, 01:32 PM EST

  Thank you, TomS!

• eiriamach | Nov 09, 2011, 12:09 PM EST

  hollabackgurl and eiriamach, it is so refreshing to read in these pages intelligent, articulate and thoughtful commentary. Moreover, you demonstrate in a compelling way that knowledge, reason, common sense, compassion and humanity will always carry the day over ignorance, prejudice and moronic stupidy. My compliments!

• warrenpoint00 | Nov 08, 2011, 07:58 PM EST

  What is Daniel,s excuse for his paedophile priest buddies.

• dorenhaigue | Nov 08, 2011, 05:24 PM EST

  why are we concealing the fact that the Obama administration is openly hostile to Catholics?

• christianb | Nov 08, 2011, 03:54 PM EST

  Daniel Avila is a sick man. The devil entered his body and made his eye the way it is. You cannot trust someone with a devil-poisoned lazy eye. Now, in all seriousness, being a Catholic all my life and seriously pondering it at this point, everyone, should mind their own business. Most people have already thrown the first stone. Why do pseudo-Christians ignore the golden rule of the King of Men? Maybe Gandhi was right when he said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians." Bunch of hypocrites... I guarantee that everyone in this forum has sinned, maybe a lesser or greater sin than "being gay", but the magnitude of the sin is not for us to decide. Mind your own business and get a life! Disclaimer: I'm married with two wonderful kids. I chose that path. The path that others choose is not for me to decide. Ron Paul 2012 at this point...

• hollabackgurl | Nov 08, 2011, 03:41 PM EST

  I am reading what you say. Here I'll quote it to you: "I believe homosexual acts are (abberant) behavior." I replied that homosexuality is NOT behavior, it is an orientation. Even if you never act upon your heterosexual or homosexual orientation you are still heterosexual or homosexual. It's pathetic that you would accuse anyone of being close-minded and persist in calling homosexuality a behavior after having a gay brother and possibly a gay grandson. People like Mychal Judge ministered to gay men in New York who were Catholics and he did so clandestinely, sneaking out to give last rights, and against the express wishes of his superiors, which you would know, if you knew how the Church reacted to the AIDS crisis in NYC. Thank you for wishing that I have a better life, by the way, I can tell you that I do.

• paddyo42 | Nov 08, 2011, 03:12 PM EST

  Now I'm a halfwit troll-Your mind is so closed it's pathetic. Also I said homosexual acts were abberant behaviour, but as usual you read what you want to hear and don't listen to what I say, and also call me a liar. Talking about watching people die of AIDS has zero to do with my positions, and it was the Catholic church that led in the caring of Aids victims in NY. Your just another "IN your face" poor victim of dicrimination. I won't waste my time anymore responding to your attacks and childish name calling. I feel sad for you because you obviously have no love for yourself. I won't see your response or further name calling because I intend to unsubscribe from Irish Central, there are to many people on here who have no respect for anothers viewpoints. Have a better life.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 08, 2011, 11:08 AM EST

  Have you ever watched someone die of AIDS? Do you know they can contract a flu that only birds get that drives them mad first? Do you realize that watching your friend or lover die from that whilst the world and so-called Christians turn their backs and condemn you might make you angry? President Ronald Reagan refused to even utter the word AIDS until 36,058 gay men had been diagnosed and 20,849 had died right here in the United States. It's impossible to think of another stigmatized social group in America who would have had to die in those kinds of numbers before a sitting President even bothered to acknowledge their plight. The Church condemned them as deserving of their fate. I'm surprised the gays didn't set St. Pat's on fire. I imagine Jesus would have been first in line with a match.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 08, 2011, 11:02 AM EST

  Homosexuality is a sexual orientation not a 'behavior.' By claiming it's a behavior you diminish the personhood of all gay people, as if they were somehow acting out instead of being who they were born to be. You do not have a gay brother or a possibly gay grandson because they would know you for the homophobic fraud you are. The Catholic Church was not attacked, Avila attacked all gays as being born of Satan. You have the story and all of your facts backwards. Also, I suspect you're just a troll.

• paddyo42 | Nov 08, 2011, 10:45 AM EST

  What church did Goebbels attend.? I do have a gay brother and might have a gay grandson, and I am not anti-gay. I believe homosexual acts are abberant behavior. I believe Marriage is a sacrament. I believe that gays, well funded and well organised in union with the ACLU people are pulling a Goebbells by attacking the church and claiming their behavior is perfectly normal, despite the antics at the gay pride parade. Stan James and Hollabackgurl, I have no hatred or prejudice against you, we were all created by God. Attacking religion and especially the Catholic Church is not the way to go; nor is bible bashing which seems to be very popular today. If there is any hatred in my heart it's for the group of ACT UP prople whe desecrated St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1989. Spitting the body of Christ on the floor and throwing condoms all over the altar, while an usher suffered a fatal heart attack. I asked God to forgive them but I can't forget. So imagine what you will about me, I don't care. I am who I am, and don't have all the answers. I will know them in the next life, so God bless you in your struggle, and remember hurt and pain goes both ways. BTW I believe everyone is going to heaven, so try to talk to God everyday about your needs.

• stanJames | Nov 08, 2011, 12:02 AM EST

  Re the comment about paddy claiming to have a gay brother............................................. the latest scam is the anti gay people claim they have a gay relative friend etc. It suddenly is showing up all over the web. ................................................... they are back to their old game - If you tell a lie often enough and outrageous enough, it will be seen as the truth............Courtesy of Goebbels - a cahtolic who got hitler elected

• paddyo42 | Nov 07, 2011, 05:16 PM EST

  http 502 error I have been Shut Down

• Rebelforce | Nov 07, 2011, 04:42 PM EST

  Just when you think the bad publicity for the Catholic church couldn't possibly get any worse, a "policy advisor" for the US catholic bishops slithers out from under his rock to prove it can.

• CaliforniaShamrock | Nov 07, 2011, 02:33 PM EST

  The Boston Pilot issued an apology for the item just recently

• eiriamach | Nov 07, 2011, 01:17 PM EST

  Avila wrote, "the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God. Applying this aspect of Catholic belief to interpret the scientific data makes more sense because it does not place God in the awkward position of blessing two mutually incompatible realities-- sexual difference and same-sex attraction." First, even a dull Ockham's razor would slice right through his need to assign blame. If we don't condemn homosexuality, then we don't need to blame anyone for it: not God, Satan, the women in whose wombs homosexuals develop, homosexuals themselves, the people homosexuals fall in love with, not the hippies of the 60s, nor "Psychology Today." Once we see homosexuality as one of several natural expressions of eros/love, the problem that Avila means to solve disappears. Throwing a devil into the mix explains nothing that needs explaining. Evil and maybe even devils exist, but isn't a devil more likely to be cavorting in a heterosexist's mind than a uterus? Second, Avila finds same-sex attraction incompatible with sexual differentiation. That's like saying because God created birds and fish to be different, no bird ought to swim and no fish ought to fly. But Nature, or the Creator, made some flying fish and swimming birds. Nature is full of surprises! Avila's Natural Law morality is far too narrow to be "Natural": sheep, lions, giraffes, some bird and insect species engage in same-sex sex, some pairs mate for life, and some even produce offspring.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 07, 2011, 12:34 PM EST

  Paddyo42, you claim you have a gay brother - does he know how little you think of him? Does he know you regularly write anonymous homophobic posts on the internet? And your claim that gays attack the Catholic church means you haven't read this story: precisely the reverse has happened - Avila attacked all gays by saying they were born of Satan. What the hell is that if not an attack on their very existence?

• paddyo42 | Nov 07, 2011, 11:39 AM EST

  I don't remember ever calling a poster a "gay activist". I am calling the writer of this blog a gay activist, The so called Arts and Entertainment section doesn't ever seem to have any stories on arts and entertainment. The stories are all self serving. Why is every difference of opinion construed as an attack or "bashing".

• DsM2shoes | Nov 07, 2011, 11:28 AM EST

  There were 7 Masses on Sunday and if you didn't get there early you were standing in the back of church. People wouldn't think of attending Mass wearing anything other than proper attire. Shorts, Tshirts, you've got to be joking! Today with three times the number of people in the Parish, twice the enrollment in the school (K-8th grade) and two Masses. One in Spanish! With the Bishops listening to imbeciles like Avila its no longer a mystery as to what happened to the Church. I wonder if it was his advice to pretend that pedophiles within the Priesthood didn't require their attention? Just a thought, although it wouldn't come as a surprise. ( completely unrelated to the story but, who does he look like?)

• paddyo42 | Nov 07, 2011, 11:15 AM EST

  Outed as a halwit; what could be worse. Would this fellow from Eikers Island show me how to use parts of my digestive system for sex organs. Very unnatural. Why do gays always have that "in your face" attack mode? The Have to shut them down, when people might have different views. I don't have a problem with what gays are or do, but have a real problem with their concerted effort to attack the bible and the church, in a well funded and organised capaign. Also stop imagining that I want to believe that all biblical versus mean what I want them to mean, there a books that will explain what they mean; when the books really don'y know I can that I have every right to my own opinion of what they mean.

• CharlyAnne | Nov 07, 2011, 11:09 AM EST

  Dear Irish Central, Interesting, though quite sad article. As usual, your comments section (most of it) is well thought out, sometimes even more informative than the article. Most Irishfolk continue to be thoughtful, erudite, NOT afraid to speak. Helps the rest of the planet out, IMO. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist- follow what rel org you will. But in that process don't holler out hatred and then say- no one is allowed to comment. What I find most offensive personally, were the comments -essentially ; "He stepped down.... clearly not the churches doctrine- why are you activists..." 'working up the crowd' so to speak. No remorse for potential deep pain inflicted. Interesting that the accusation "Activist" is hurled at this group of commentators. These were genuine responses to hateful comments. They are borne of his hate speech. Despite his bias, PERHAPS a kindly religious person as he seems to have defenders here, so I will give him benefit of the doubt. But these responses are directed @ an individual with obvious and very repressed lifelong fear/hatred of homosexuals. People had better respond to injustice, and do so loudly.

• OldDave | Nov 07, 2011, 11:04 AM EST

  Some pretty deep questions/issues being raised here. @paddyo42 -- To answer your question about consummation, it would help to learn what the word means. The Merriam-Webster definition: to make marital union complete by sexual intercourse. And if you need to find out what "sexual intercourse" is, they also have a definition for that, and it applies equally well to straight and gay couples. And as for whether one of the men in a gay marriage is considered the wife, the answer is no. Hope that clears those questions up. IrelandNorth -- regarding your comment about the word "homophobia" it would help if you knew the complete definition of that word. Merriam-Webster, proving itself useful once again, defines it as: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. Aversion, I think, can be viewed as a mild form of hate. (Oh, and your literal rendering of the word is wrong too ... "homo" has to do with sameness, not maleness.) And as for Biblical precedent, many Christians who perhaps do a better job tracking historical context and translation issues involved in those few passages that mention homosexuality would disagree with your assertion that it is condemned in the context of loving, committed, monogamous relationships.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 07, 2011, 10:55 AM EST

  Yes, but by your last two comments paddyo42 you have outed yourself as a halfwit. I imagine that you believe all Biblical verses mean what you want to to mean. P.S. if you genuinely want to know how gay couples consummate a marriage leave me your email address and I'll get someone from Rikers to give you a crash course. Meanwhile stop wearing mixed fabrics, God hates them.

• paddyo42 | Nov 07, 2011, 10:32 AM EST

  Deuternomy 22-11 is in the torah and most jewish people do not know the reason for it. I read it as meaning Marriage is not for gays, one is wool and one is linen, and they should not be woven together.

• paddyo42 | Nov 07, 2011, 10:19 AM EST

  How does a gay couple consummate a marriage; and in every marriage is one of the men considered the wife.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 07, 2011, 08:49 AM EST

  The Bible says you should not wear polyester, it's an abomination. Deuteronomy 22:11: "Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together." It also says all mixed fabrics are totally out. Leviticus 19:19: "A garment mingled of linen and woolen should not come upon thee." So everyone who has ever shopped at WalMart, Target or H&M is an abomination. Have a nice day sinners.

• IrelandNorth | Nov 07, 2011, 08:23 AM EST

  Biblical precedent considers homo[s]sexuality an abomination. Homophobia (literally - fear of men!) is not hatred of homo[s]sexuals. "A man shall leave his father and mother and 'cling/cleave' to his 'wife', & the 'two' shall become 'one' flesh."

• mcdolan | Nov 07, 2011, 04:14 AM EST

  Seems to me he has been impressed by his own power and feels free to make ludicrous, hateful statements. A nutcase.

• ciarajoyce | Nov 07, 2011, 12:46 AM EST

  What a jackass. The finest man I know, kind to everyone and he avoids saying bad things about even folks who've earned it, is gay. The devil had nothing to do with the creation of this wonderful human being. I can't say the same for those who think gays (LGBT) are born evil. Get a grip.

• olydublinr | Nov 06, 2011, 11:31 PM EST

  Great posting Eiriamach, sure makes that old "Satan" look like a real dufus !! (Never had to try to spell d"Dufus" before !

• hollabackgurl | Nov 06, 2011, 11:01 PM EST

  Avila was not asked, he offered his resignation. Unless you were the bishop he tendered it to paddyo42 you have no more knowledge of how it went than the rest of us. It's not just the 'gay activists' you put in 'scare quotes' who are disgusted by this story.

• paddyo42 | Nov 06, 2011, 10:13 PM EST

  Mr. Avila was asked to resign, and he did immediately. What he wrote was not church teaching. I am sure gay acticvists like you will beat this story to death.

• eiriamach | Nov 06, 2011, 08:55 PM EST

  I read the story that the NY Times ran on this event, and it was a relief to know that the ever-unflappable American bishops knew just how to handle the matter. The newspaper "apologized for 'having failed to recognize the theological error in the column before publication,' and it deleted the column from its Web site. A spokeswoman for the bishops’ conference said that Mr. Avila’s column was not approved by the bishops, and that the church does not have a definitive theory on the origins of same-sex attraction." "Theological Error"??? What a genteel euphemism! It gives no offensive; it lacks the blunt, harsh tone of words like "bigotry" and "homophobia." On the surface, there seems little to object to, just a slip-up they say, a teensy mistake in "theology," owing to Mr. Avila's incomplete study of God's nature, his imperfect understanding of the truths of religion. The bishops saw no need to correct any of this "error" only because these learned but humble churchmen do not presume to have a "definitive theory" of their own. But I'm left wondering whether they realize that Avila's "theological error" includes the strange notion that God allows the devil access to gestating wombs, unborn "souls" lacking the fortitude of baptism to resist a Satanic onslaught. Surely Satan would not waste such opportunity on a mere change of sexual orientation. Surely the devil would rather make a bishop out of that poor soul still in the womb!

• luckysusan | Nov 06, 2011, 08:30 PM EST

  Oh my goodness...what a sad "news" story. Someone in leadership of our Church: get a grip!

• hollabackgurl | Nov 06, 2011, 08:19 PM EST

  Talking about Satan in 2011 is a bit like using a wire and two tins cans to talk about how a computer works. You get the general idea but the simplicity is laughable. I have no doubt that evil exists, but I think it's found in people's hearts and they can act or choose not to act on it. To talk about demons in this age is beyond absurd. I'm embarrassed for anyone who does.

• BishopSean | Nov 06, 2011, 08:07 PM EST

  I have read reports from people who were able to leave Satan-worshippng societies that they go to churches with a view to "infiltrating" them. When we see church-goers and church-leaders making a big mess of things, Satan is very happy. An uninvited demonized woman once showed up at a priests' retreat held by Fr. Francis MacNutt and she screamed out that she wanted priests to fall because every time a priest fell, thousands of other believers would fall to. We have to pray fervently for all churches which may have let Satan into the house.

• BishopSean | Nov 06, 2011, 08:02 PM EST

  We should never blame on the devil what sins we commit in response to our unspiritual, selfish carnal nature. We can also be led into sin by our caving into "the world," meaning sinful influences of other persons and society in general. Just think of how many adolescents get involved in delinquent behaviour through their bad friends. Also, think of Nazi Germany and other mob-controlled societies. However, that there is a devil, and other evil demons, is abundantly clear to me, having participated in deliverance ministry on occasion. Among other things, if there were no devil, Jesus Himself would have been deluded. But Jesus publicly rebuked Satan when instantly healing people and Jesus definitively overcame Satan on Calvary's cross. Through Jesus, we can share in the victory over satan and his minions, even today. It is my belief that there is an evil demon behind every obsessive, compulsive addiction.

• phinsman | Nov 06, 2011, 06:48 PM EST

  This is totally inaccurate... similar to back in the 20th century when those who were left handed had some link to the devil or satan. All of the references to deities, spirits, angels, devils, heaven, hell, purgatory, etc. are just as mythological as Greek, Roman, Irish and Scandinavian mythology.

• hollabackgurl | Nov 06, 2011, 06:43 PM EST

  This basket case is explicitly saying that the Devil infiltrates women's wombs to create gay people. So yes, I would say that's a departure from current official established Catholic dogma. Didn't you read the article of Avila's comments? This guy appears at Family Research Council hate-fests to demean the dignity of gay people and its his life's work. I agree that he's probable just expressing what's hidden in their hearts, but even by their standards it's repulsive nonsense.

• OldDave | Nov 06, 2011, 06:21 PM EST

  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that homosexuals - even those in loving, committed, monogamous relationships - are engaged in 'acts of grave depravity' (CCC2357). That assertion is based on references to four passages in the Bible. One is the Sodom story, which is quite explicitly about gang rape. The other three are from Paul's letters, one explicitly being about people 'inflamed with lust,' and all three acknowledged in Catholic commentary of the Church's very own NAB translation to be referring to things like pederasty. (Both the Catechism and the NAB commentaries can be found on the USCCB's own website.) Is saying that homosexuality=rape/lust/pedophilia/prostitution - as the USCCB and the Catechism pretty clearly imply - really all that much less offensive than what Daniel Avila said?? I'm not bashing Catholicism in general and don't actually think most Catholics believe those correspondences between homosexuality and those other things. (Just like most Lutherans strongly repudiate Luther's anti-Semitic views; I'm Lutheran so can say that without fear of being labelled a Lutheran-basher.) But those correspondences do seem to be firmly established, official, Catholic dogma.

• kwhitesure | Nov 06, 2011, 06:06 PM EST

  The Catholic Church continues to loose credibility throughout the world...I was born, raised and lived a good percentage of my adult life as a Catholic...and I am almost embarrassed to say that anymore. If we truly believe in an all loving and powerful being...do we really think that entity lets evil take over at will...I think we know where the real lack of love comes from...and it has everything to do with those who feel they have the right to be judgemental....I guess if you spend enough time pointing out what everyone else is doing wrong...you dont have time to look at the culprit staring at you in the mirror...and this can certainly apply to the Catholic Church

• seanomelbourne | Nov 06, 2011, 05:02 PM EST

  les3342 you have just turned me off fruitcake.

• mamaginnty | Nov 06, 2011, 04:13 PM EST

  Avila is the devil's publisher, he should go live in the vatican where the devil resides. Where the pope made another horrible statement saying the children were the sinners, the children enticed and lured his saintly employees to commit sin..google "The pope forgives the children" An evil cult that needs to be destroyed. To whom it may concern...I am an elderly irish woman, born into catholisism through no choice of my own and brainwashed for more than sixty years. This was not a faith it was hell on earth.

• jamthecat | Nov 06, 2011, 02:34 PM EST

  Avila's comments are so absurd, they'd be funny if they weren't aiming to cause such pain and evil in the world. To tell a gay person they're the way they are because they were born of evil is to spit in the face of Christ and everything he stands for. Shameful. But typical.

• Deidra47 | Nov 06, 2011, 02:32 PM EST

  Oh, for God's sake! What an idiot this man is. And they wonder why people turn away from religion.

• mfinucane | Nov 06, 2011, 02:26 PM EST

  what a moron!!!

• OldDave | Nov 06, 2011, 02:19 PM EST

  @PiperMac52 -- I would love for you to identify the book/chapter/verse in the Bible that identifies homosexuality as "a sin that cries out to heaven."

• Portia777 | Nov 06, 2011, 02:14 PM EST

  patrickomalley.Satan isn't responsible for people begin gay. Satan is responsible for: - pedophile priests raping thousands of children" NO, Satan is not responsible for pedophile priests. The rapist priests are responsible. Time to stop blaming God and Satan- it is so patriarchal- black V white, good V evil, man V woman. The church always uses someone else as a scapegoat, rather than accept personal responsibility. Right from the moment in the garden of Eden- supposedly- Eve ill Eve- she tempted poor Adam with an apple.LOL and he could not resist, so she was blamed and has been blamed ever since.It is all a scam to keep dividing and controlling the sheep and here is the perfect example. So , let us be grateful that this God V Satan nonsense is out in the light, so we can look at it one last time before the veil of truth lifts on what the Vatican/SS/Holy See is all about.

• Portia777 | Nov 06, 2011, 02:02 PM EST

  "But telling a mother that the Devil entered her womb and made her child gay is new, even by Catholic standards." Here we go again, back to the dark ages and the witch trials- women having sex with Satan.It is all her fault. War on women as we saw in USA during the week with the D.U.P DEPT OF THE UTERUS POLICE- MEN IN DRESSES. So where is this Satan fella, so he can answer for himself? So is he saying that it is the evil male sperm that is causing homosexuals to be created.?

• hollabackgurl | Nov 06, 2011, 02:00 PM EST

  Michael S. Rose argues that the Catholic Church discriminates against people who are heterosexual, including screening out genuine candidates with traditionalist views of homosexuality in favour of those with progressive views. This is how most sane people conclude Michael S. Rose is an idiot. In reality the Catholic Church is one of the most homophobic organizations in the world and Rose's book is trying to pin the tail on gays rather than the Vatican.

• luckodeirish | Nov 06, 2011, 12:56 PM EST

  The Catholic Church as an institute is rotten to the core and has been for centuries. There are good individuals within it; good priests and nuns, brothers, who have done good and charitable work. They are sadly tainted by a dogmatic, mysogynistic, fear-driven group of ould men who should just give up already and release their attempted strangle-hold on the few remaining Catholics loyal to the church. Just my opinion.

• Collette2 | Nov 06, 2011, 12:42 PM EST

  Yes and the Vatican is the breeding ground.

• slainte9 | Nov 06, 2011, 12:24 PM EST

  This is a dishonest story about a remark that should never have made it into a Catholic newspaper. Can you find the story on the Pilot's website any longer? No. Have the Bishops said the remark doesn't reflect Catholic belief. Yes.

• SeamusMor | Nov 06, 2011, 12:05 PM EST

  Avila's head is so far up his own ass that he thinks his farts are thunder!

• PhlutiePhan | Nov 06, 2011, 11:19 AM EST

  If you read Malachi Martin, he would say that the devil has infiltrated the Catholic Church. He would also say that it started with John XXIII and was furthered by Paul VI until he realized that the "smoke of Satan had entered the Vatican". It pretty much killed him. There is also the story of Guiseppe Siri, the AB of Milan, who was the handpicked successor of Pius XII. Even the C.I.A. acknowledges that he was elected twice and forced to abdicate so that the Vatican could shift from a religous base to one of social justice in league with a socialist concordat with the Soviet Union.

• PiperMac52 | Nov 06, 2011, 11:14 AM EST

  In response to a few uninformed comments below: The Jay commission study showed that over 80% of the abuse cases involved post-pubescent males(homosexuality). The truth is that since Vatican II and the liberalization of the church a subculture of Homosexual priests has been allowed to thrive. I would suggest reading "Goodbye Good Men..." By Michael S. Rose. A detailed expose of that subculture and the Seminaries that drummed out traditional candidates in favor of homosexuals with many anecdotes from former Seminarians. Regnery publishers. ...and the truth shall set you free.

• Les3342 | Nov 06, 2011, 11:08 AM EST

  I'm an atheist and proud of it, but never more so than I am right now after reading this. What a fruitcake!

• PiperMac52 | Nov 06, 2011, 11:02 AM EST

  Both the old and new testament condemn homosexual acts as sinful. In fact in one verse: " a sin that cries out to heaven.." as it is a violation of natural law. Since the dawn of civilization it has been recognized as such in every society. God created them man and woman, instituted the sacrament of Matrimony. Secular Psychiatry until 1973 and under pressure from gay lobbyists considered Homosexuality a disordered pathology. Since an increasingly secular culture embraces moral relativism Homosexuality has been redefined as equivalent to race. Satan is the great deceiver....

• jamieLM | Nov 06, 2011, 10:59 AM EST

  We're all children of God - it's just that some people choose not to act like it more than others. There's NOTHING "Christian" about singling people out for abuse because they were born gay and using Satan as the fall guy to do it. What a stupid thing for Avila to say. What, he got a phone call from Satan who gave him this ridiculous explanation for why people are born gay? I'm filing anything Avila has to say under "G" for garbage.

• FGreggMeagher | Nov 06, 2011, 10:14 AM EST

  D. Avila: Thank you for explaining why there are so many homosexuals, which I personally find only Our Creator's Creation just like any other sexual preference classification,exist within the Vatican's Empirical and Questionable Organization? Also, why there are Catholic Sisters being violently sexually raped in Africa by priests? Children have been abused since 200-400 AD in the Church? The Vatican's banks (exposed and hidden) are considered internationally the most corrupt? And Popes becoming Saint's refused to admit to their child that they are, in DNA fact, his father? And the list goes eternally on. Reason? Oh! Scriptures clearly state that the Church's Holy Headquarters are Satan's Final Home on earth! You should know eh!

• patrickomalley | Nov 06, 2011, 10:10 AM EST

  Satan isn't responsible for people begin gay. Satan is responsible for: - pedophile priests raping thousands of children (in the Unites States alone) - bishops moving more pedophiles to places where they raped more children - bishops covering it up - bishops lying about it - all Catholics shunning the victims Satan is also responsible for making people think that God hates gays more than God hates child rapists and liars in His church. Satan would distract from the fact that tens of thousands of priests had sex with 100,000 children, and the church consistently moved and hid pedophile priests.

• bunkerisland | Nov 06, 2011, 10:08 AM EST

  Let us not confuse the LGBT community with deviants who practice pedophilia. The later practice violent and controlling acts upon defenseless victims. They are the evil!

• TIMFITZ | Nov 06, 2011, 09:57 AM EST

  Did the devil also make gay all those priests who are gay? If so, what is the Church doing to go after those devils?

• lecorri | Nov 06, 2011, 09:45 AM EST

  Only sounds deranged? Baby he IS deranged as are any and all fundamentalist religions who espouse this kinda rubbish!

• joan1954 | Nov 06, 2011, 09:44 AM EST

  This name calling is getting ridiculous, no wonder we have problems!!!

• Samishere | Nov 06, 2011, 09:43 AM EST

  So this means that the catholic church was in fact "Hiding," and shuffling around it's gay priests to keep them from getting arrested for their crimes against children for the devil himself? Gee...that IS news.