Gay priest disputes church teaching that homosexuality is sin

By Darrell Holland

Religion Editor

Sexual relationships between persons of the same sex who are involved in a constructive human relationship are morally good, a Roman Catholic priest said here yesterday.

The Rev. John J. McNeill, a Jesuit of New York City, said he disagreed with the official teaching of the Catholic Church that says that all sex between homosexuals is a sin..

Father McNeill, 52, who described himself in an interview as a celibate gay priest, was in Cleveland to give a lecture last night at Case Western Reserve University.

His appearance here was arranged by the Hallinan Center, the Catholic campus ministry at CWRU. He will speak again at 8 tonight in a dialog with another speaker, the Rev. Norman Pittenger, an Episcopal priest from England. The latter will speak at 1:30 p.m. today at Amasa Stone Chapel.

Father McNeill, who holds a Ph.D. degree in moral theology and who is studying psychotherapy in New York, was critical of a statement adopted by American bishops last November that all homosexual activity is sinful.

He said that the Bible does not justify such a conclusion, and that sex between homosexuals that is not promiscuous should not be considered morally wrong.

In the Bible, he said, homosexual rape is condemned in Leviticus, and St. Paul condemns homosexual acts that are motivated by lust, but not healthy homosexual acts.

One of every 10 Americans is a homosexual, Father McNeill said, according to most studies. That figure also holds true for Catholics, he said, which means there are some five million gay Catholics.

The church, he contended, does psychological and spiritual harm to gays by its rejection of them. He said they have great potential for service to church and society.

The essence of marriage, the priest said, is found in love and a commitment of fidelity between two persons,

The Plain Dealer/William A. Ashbolt

The Rev. John J. McNeill

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"The Pope and the church are wrong to condemn healthy love between homosexuals," he said.

Present church teaching, he said, "permits a gay person who is involved in a promiscuous affair to . receive absolution after confession, but a gay involved in a permanent relationship must break it up to receive forgiveness."

...Father McNeill said the church. always has taught that chastity is a gift from God for some, but not all, persons.

He said that there are 52 chapters of Dignity, an organization founded by gay Catholics, in the United States. He will meet with members of the Cleveland chapter.

Father McNeill has written a book on the church and the homosexual.

A spokesman for the Cleveland diocese said yesterday that the  ́diocese was aware of Father McNeill's appearance here, and that it did not object.