ABOUT

For centuries homosexuals have been vilified and persecuted by the Catholic Church, but throughout all of its history the Church has had a very inconvenient secret. Many of its clergy and religious men and women, even those in the highest echelons of the Church, were and are homosexual. Little was known of the lives these religious people live until the publication of the groundbreaking, Gay Catholic Priests; A Study of Cognitive and Affective Dissonance, in 1981.

I am the author of that study and I am a gay priest. But the media firestorm that erupted after its publication and the backlash within my religious community because of its publication eventually destroyed my public priesthood.I want to share the  story of my 13-year battle with the Church to save my ministry, because it exemplifies the spiritual isolation, emotional distress and ecclesiastical reprisals every gay priest fears most.

My New book: Secrecy, Sophistry And Gay Sex In The Catholic Church; The Systematic Destruction Of An Oblate Priest.

I hope this new site will become a clearinghouse for news and information about gay clergy worldwide. I hope to have a social media component added soon. This will be a safe and secure place where individuals will be able to create profiles, share their stories and form ALLIANCES, find SUPPORT, and involve themselves in ACTIVISM.

Richard Wagner, M.Div., Ph.D., ACS

10 Replies to “ABOUT”

  1. Hi. I am trying to understand the situation. 1.Am not homosexual.2.Am not squeamish about homosexuals of either gender.3. i came to Faith and God after being an atheist from birth (in Eastern Europe). 4.I came as a mature adult through readings. it is something that does not work for my mind:if God exists…then it should be seriously accepted- the commands,Testaments,CHURCH. 5.Simple thing are the commands- just DON’t lie…don’t do adultery, etc. 6.It said -deadly sins.7. You, being a Christian,a Catholic- are you do not believe in YOUR church and your God’s commands…8.Well! If you want to be TRUE- then you can not be in closet while RC church does not openly declare homosexuality NO MORE a deadly sin- go to Episcopals- it would be at least somehow more honest.
    9. just once again: if Scripture is wrong? 10 Or you do “correcting” your CHURCH? Is church dogmas correctable by their nature? Until what degree are they correctable?
    Well! Then be an atheist,or create your own theology etc. I STILL be not able to understand: yes, we are all for sure sinners just being born that, but if you a priest- do not lie. Either follow your commands and scripture either you are not truth anymore once you do not follow.11. Oh– you are honest- you are openly defend your rights to be what you believe God and nature made you- homosexual. But it is so across the dogmas of RC church. Am in a point of life when I need TRUTH. It is so simple: either do truth, either openly leave a situation which has a hidden lies, — but the word “priest” and definition “gay” is logically impossible. Well! I know some an honest – at least in ethic- gays and terribly low in moral heterosexual priests, – still be – it does not work together at CATHOLIC church- to be priest and to be gay. I feel you are an honest person in an wrong, apriori wrong situation.
    I am in such need to hear truth, to follow truth, and I feel your pain beside all.
    Sincerely,
    James, an alien.

    1. well James, you need to do some remedial reading on the subject. there are dozens of books out there that will help you balance your rather one-sided view of things. and just for the record, while i am delighted to learn that you are not squeamish about gay and lesbian people, you don’t know much about us. why not take some time to get to know some of us? i mean, to find out how we think and feel. this, of course, would mean that you have to listen, really listen. you may not be able to do that, because it appears you have a lot of preconceived noise in your head. one final thing; if you think gay catholic priests are a contradiction in terms, you need to get out more. your universe needs to expand, my friend. just because your tiny slice of life can’t grasp the reality, doesn’t mean it’s not TRUE.

  2. Hi, I am really not into the such huge object to discuss as “homosexuality vs church”. Still be I am in the way “it must be openly declared and have no hidden lies about it”, so, if
    “The Catechism describes homosexual acts as “intrinsically disordered”: “They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”-
    then- you either NOT sharing and not following the dogmas of YOUR church- while other churches could be a good match to your beliefs, either you are trying to change your church- then I would understand it better- the changes in the way Episcopal and other denominations made re homosexuality. Unfortunately for me, while I was employed by RC church (not being a convert to Catholicism- and from now I never would do it) , I saw SO many lies and so much of low moral acts, that I starting to think, the only way is –to be honest, to do either honestly what one believes in, either honestly to leave a denomination. The low moral acting was both- heterosexual and homosexual clergy, low moral in all other ways- in the base was A LIE, in other words , I saw a denomination that is not even a religious structure, but mostly financial – yes- as they call it- “trillionth enterprise”, with a corporative law and hierarchy built on dividing a clergy by a cast of “elite” bishops and “blue collar termites”-a hard working priests (and yes, among those a lot of Holy Men), but the amount of lie in higher cast brought me to intrust even to Vatican- who knows, if the main documents- Testaments, Scripture is really what is “from God’s plan”, or only what RC church as an enterprise WANTS to make. I rather may have a doubts in a way that would support homosexuality. In other words, the corruption of RC church make me to intrust to their basic dogmas. All I wanted to say: I saw too many of UN-ethical and very low moral acts and a lot of obvious and hidden and even unhidden lies.
    However ,it still bother me that homosexuality is rather the terminal situation, the situation that rather lead to the end of a population, the situation that put a sexual life aspect rather in a “hedonistic” ways than in a ways of creating a new life, developing a population. It seems a destructive, not constructive situation for a human population.
    I am a simple mind: if life has a certain laws of developing itself, creating a new lives etc, then the terminal situation that has no continuation in a new lives supposed to be against God’s way “multiplying itself”. I consider a homosexuality rather to be a tragedy of life.
    In my parish there were 3 gay clergy.One, not clergy, but working for cathehumens, never ordained because he did not want to lie about his homosexuality, suicided. It is the consequences between “human nature” and RC church .situation- the honest way either impossible either a tragedy.
    I do believe the church NEEDS to have a clean view, free from a lie upon homosexuality. there is such view exists through centuries, but in reality is just a hidden island of lie.

    James.

    1. yes, James, i would have to agree with you, you are a simple mind. that’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but you’re certainly not up to this task. you have very little information at your disposal and most of that is outdated. so i encourage you not to try and universalize from your tiny slice of life. if your catechism makes you feel safe and secure and you are at peace with your god; then EXCELLENT. but others, myself included, have a much different perspective about our god, our church and ourselves. if you can’t respect that then you should take your rudimentary thoughts elsewhere. there is no room for bigotry here, even of the unenlightened kind that you display. have a nice day.

    2. You are correct James about the catechism teaching that it is disordered. Disorder means not ordered no matter the topic. The Church teaches truth, humans teach human truths which, many times, does not fall in line with the Church that Christ founded 2,000 years ago. Keep studying, you are on the right track!

  3. I am curious as to the reasons behind the need for hiding the writers name of this blog by only using Admin as signature. Nonetheless, I stumbed upon this website looking for public articles of information about a RC Diocese. I read through quite a bit if the news articles then preceded to your about page. I must say the only emotionally charged writing on this site, comes from the admin. The seething undercurrent of bigotry and dislike was evident in the accuser, that being the admin. James’ points regarding his recent studies of the RC church’s doctrine were correct and unemotional as to the written word. Yours (points that is) were unsubstantiated and full of dripping hate.

    One could not help but think as a result of reading your own responses that you do this page an injustice by the lack of documentative facts from scripture supporting your cause. The cause being gay and a priest. You took an opportunity to engage others who might see your plight through your eyes in a supportive manner yet you blew the chance due to the reasons just cited. The hate, dripping sarcasm and bigotry you displayed towards someone else’s discussion on a subject that you Admin to is unwarranted and unchristian. One has to wonder why you Even chose to publish his questions if only to publicly mock him…….yet I do recall those people who were afraid of Christ’s message 2013 years ago, chose that very same cruelty……

    1. well, Victoria, so nice of you to drop by. you want to know who writes this blog? i, Richard Wagner, M.Div., Ph.D., ACS, do. i am responsible for everything on this site as well as its parent site: http://gaycatholicpriests.org. happy now?

      listen, darling, you think you can just march in here like some privileged super-catholi and call me out on my own site? you clearly know nothing about me, and you clearly know nothing about my history, but in you waltz full of indignation. shame on you. you don’t like what you read here, by all mean, hun, have none. there are plenty of reactionary catholic blogs for you to enjoy. take your business to them.

      you are not the intended audience for this site or any progressive catholic site. and the corker is you are so snide and condescending in your comment while you accuse me of much the same thing. well, Victoria, consider this the pot calling out the kettle. goodbye.

      oh and have a nice day.

  4. listen, darling, you think you can just march in here like some privileged super-catholi and call me out on my own site? you clearly know nothing about me, and you clearly know nothing about my history, but in you waltz full of indignation. shame on you. you don’t like what you read here, by all mean, hun, have none. there are plenty of reactionary catholic blogs for you to enjoy. take your business to them.

    you are not the intended audience for this site or any progressive catholic site. and the corker is you are so snide and condescending in your comment while you accuse me of much the same thing. well, Victoria, consider this the pot calling out the kettle. goodbye.

    oh and have a nice day.
    **********************************

    Wow…just wow. And you’re a Catholic priest?

    How on earth did you make it through seminary?

    Don’t answer….I think I know already.

    If you can’t accept Catholic doctrine, perhaps you need to consider an alternative career path. The Church is not for you.

    1. i love your insinuation. how did i get through seminary, indeed. you got issues, hun. you can’t get your mind out of your crotch. that tells me a lot about you. i was molested in seminary at the age of 14 by a man just like you; a rabid closet case. are you so repressed you can’t see that for yourself?

      and who are you to tell me or anyone what catholic doctrine is? and where do you get off questioning my faith? and what is this nonsense about the Church is not for me? who died and left you the boss? BE GONE little man!

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