Doesn't the church teach that we are all born sinners (original sin), meaning that nobody is perfect, but that one can confess their sins, repent, and be forgiven? Doesn't that apply to priests, also? Or do they loose their priesthood if they sin? Have they treated gay priests differently than child abusing priests?
The use of that term is just knee-jerk virtue signaling merely because it involved a gay guy.
Priests are to be celibate. If you don’t like the rules, don’t be a priest.
If it was a priest who got caught having sex with women he met on tinder and going to strip clubs, nobody would call him ‘courageous.’ They’d call him a bad priest... there’s nothing admirable about it.
But replace ‘tinder’ with ‘Grindr’ and ‘strip club’ with ‘gay bar’ and the dipshit priest is suddenly ‘courageous’?
Are adulterers ‘courageous’ for breaking their vows and cheating on their spouse?
Priests go to confession, but they are also held to a higher standard. Not being Catholic, I don't know where the lines are as far as sin that would get a priest defrocked.
But, they have certain rules they are to follow if they wish to be a priest. If you swear to follow the rules, you should do so. If not, quit. It had nothing to do with Catholicism. If you’re a Rabbi leading a synagogue you shouldn’t sneak off on the Sabbath and gorge on pork sandwiches. Nobody would call such a Rabbi ‘courageous.’ They’d call him a hypocrite.
Hell, it doesn’t even have to do with religion. If your job prohibits you from smoking marijuana, and you swear you won’t, nobody should call you ‘courageous’ if you’re busted smoking weed.
