Pages

Friday, October 21, 2005

What the..?!

I had a motion hearing today where the judge basically advised opposing counsel to request sanctions. The amount of money imposed on me (or my firm) doesn't justify taking the judge up on appeal, but geez!!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Hittin' Below the Mendoza Line

I don't know what it is, but I've been on a bit of losing streak lately on motions before the court. The frustrating part is that on at least two occasions, the opposing side seemed pretty resigned to not winning. I thought my boss was exagerating at the time, but his consistent complaint about judges being unpredictable, capricious and arbitrary is starting to ring truer with me every day.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

It's Not a "Witch Hunt" if There are "Witches"

Michael Rose on the Lavender Mafia, the upcoming seminary visits by the Vatican, and the yet to be released document that supposedly bars men with homosexual tendencies from the priesthood.

Several years ago, Father Donald Cozzens, then rector of a Cleveland seminary, wrote that many seminary faculties included a disproportionate number of homosexuals. In his book, The Changing Face of the Priesthood, he commented that "straight men in a predominantly or significantly gay environment commonly experience self doubt."

In my own study of seminary life over the past three decades, I have found that many heterosexual men give up their seminary studies precisely for this reason, leaving behind a student body gradually swollen with homosexuals. I'm not talking about the presence of a few gay-oriented men who want to live chastely, but rather the institutionalization of a gay subculture that has earned some seminaries nicknames such as the Pink Palace, Notre Flame, and Theological Closet.

One aspect of this gay subculture of both priests and seminarians is that too many men who want to be chaste, whether gay or straight, are propositioned, harassed or even molested – occurrences that are more common than one might think. This doesn't aid the moral and spiritual development of the church's future clergy. Rather, it fosters a pathological pattern of living.

This is not simply about homosexuality or homosexual acts. It's about an agenda and subculture that systematically undermine celibacy, a state to which the Roman Catholic priest is called. This gay subculture is also in direct conflict with the teachings of the church. Those involved are promoting this conflict and escalating the problem.