“THE SINS OF THE SEMINARIES”: Amy Welborn talks sense in the NY Times.

…A seminary has a dual responsibility. It owes the future priest preparation for a life of sacrifice, unique witness and engagement with other human beings at moments of joy and pain in a society that has no respect for his vocation.

But a seminary also owes us, the people in the pews, psychologically mature priests who aren’t engaged in an eternal and ego-driven struggle with their own problems, who are prepared to serve, to teach and preach–with integrity and honesty.

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…For my part, I wish I had something constructive to say about the Gay Stuff which has gotten all the press, but really, I don’t. You can read David Morrison’s comments here and here. (ETA: Cacciaguida presents a good case-for-rumored-regs here, but the first two comments make the points that I would’ve made.) All I got is this:

1. I didn’t become Catholic because I thought the Vatican always got everything right. I mostly agree with Morrison’s take on the whole “blanket ban on same-sex attracted seminarians” possibility/probability/rumor. So if they go with that idea, I think that’s lame. If you think it’s lame and it really bothers you (I can’t tell if it really bothers me or not, because I’m stressing out about a lot of other things, several related to this issue, already), there are things you can do:

2. You can pray. I’m thinking a novena to St. Joseph. I’ve never prayed a novena before, so hey, opportunity. Lame, changeable Vatican regulatory decisions shouldn’t mess with your spiritual life.

3. You can remind yourself of the possibility of heroism and sanctity. For me, this probably means Netflix’ing “Therese” and watching it again. Other people will have other means. But the point is, embrace the Cross. You’ll have to do it anyway, so might as well do it now and with as much good grace as you can muster.

4. Relatedly, you can attain perspective. I find three hours at the pregnancy center helps a lot with this one. God asks all of us to do terribly difficult things. Many lives are slow martyrdoms or intermittent ones, with intense sweetness but equally intense pain and bitterness. Find the sources of sweetness–for me, with Gay Stuff, it’s generally friendship, insight, and creative energy–and offer up the rest to God.

5. You can go to Confession and receive the Eucharist.