Local Lay Leader Blames Gay Sub-Culture for Priest Sex-Abuse Scandal

Its the gays and feminists who are at fault:

On Tuesday night, the leader of a group of orthodox laymen called the Defenders of Church Society told about 150 people at a meeting in St. Paul that the archdiocese is violating canon law by tolerating sexual activity by gay and straight priests and covering up a gay subculture that Pence blames for the priest sex abuse scandal.

The archdiocese has adamantly denied the group's claims.

During his impassioned two-hour speech, Pence asserted that "a fraternity of Catholic men" must confront church leaders about "a culture of deceit" that does not respect priestly celibacy and other church laws.

The audience was sympathetic, laughing at Pence's frequent jokes about psychologists, feminists and gays. Those present also readily complied with his request that the men sit in front, the women in back. That, Pence said, "is because men are defenders and protectors."

It's not the first time Pence, a Mankato physician, has stirred controversy. Two years ago, he led a group that tried to block gay Catholics and their supporters from receiving communion at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

In the past few weeks, the society has created a buzz by posting its criticisms of the archdiocese on its website (www.docsociety.org). Its supporters have spread them via an e-mail network.

On Tuesday, Pence named three priests whom he said he has confronted in person and asked to step down. Most prominent among them is the Rev. Kevin McDonough, vicar general of the archdiocese, who Pence said has failed to enforce canon law. Others include an elderly priest he says has had relationships with young men and a priest who "argues openly that homosexuality is just another form of love," Pence said.

Pence said his group wants to "signal to priests, deacons and seminarians that we believe the archdiocese should abide by its own laws."

"We keep hearing that the abuse crisis happened because Catholic priests are all men, in effect blaming it on the church's purity codes," he said before the meeting. "But the purity codes are sound -- we've just got a group of guys in the priesthood who don't buy it, and feminists who don't believe in the patriarchy of God and male priesthood. Those aren't Catholic arguments."

Keeping women in their place at the back of the church was a nice touch.