10/5/2008 Fresno, CA, USA (KFSN) — Father Geoffrey Farrow of the Saint Paul Newman Center in northeast Fresno shocked parishioners Sunday morning when he came out against Proposition 8, an initiative that would eliminate the right for same sex couples to marry in California.
After 23 years as an ordained Catholic Priest, Father Geoffrey Farrow has likely given his final mass. Sunday morning he invited us to hear his message, a message that shocked many parishioners.
11 o’clock mass began as usual Sunday. Father Geoff led parishioners through prayer and communion.
The homily taught of acceptance, love and rejection. But it was his closing remarks that left some parishioners stunned. “What most Catholics hear about being gay or lesbian at their parish is silence,”
Fr. Geoff says after numerous inquiries from parishioners asking for direction on Proposition 8, if passed would ban gay marriage, the Father said he must go against the Bishops recommendation and instead go with what he feels is right.
“In directing the faithful to vote yes on proposition 8, the California Bishops are not only entering the political arena, they are ignoring the advances and insights of neurology, psychology and the very statements by the church itself that homosexual is innate,” says Fr. Geoff.
Well I guess he has a thorough understanding of Church teaching as he has on what she has said about homosexuality. That is a lousy understanding. The Church has made no statements about homosexuality being innate. This is a scientific question and one the Church will never weigh in on. The consistent teaching of the Church is that homosexual acts are intrinsically evil.
We sat down with Father Geoff before mass, and he answered the question many are probably wondering… Is he gay? “It’s a secondary issue. But yes, I am. And when I was a boy I asked God please make me normal and the prayer never got answered and I realized why. Because God would’ve made somebody else he wouldn’t have made me.”
What a surprise that once again a priest who stands up at Mass and talks about homosexuality being acceptable themselves have same-sex attraction. Funny how we never hear an alcoholic priest give a homily about how alcoholism is okay. But this is what happens when society calls a sin acceptable and it makes it harder for those suffering to acknowledge the truth.
Sunday mass ended with about half the congregation giving a standing ovation. Outside parishioners had mixed reaction about the priest’s remarks.
Bishop John Steinbock has not yet talked to Father Geoff, but surely that will come soon.
Hat Tip Fr. James Martin S.J.
24 comments
Last I checked, we were all born with a thing called CONCUPISCENCE, that does not mean that sin is acceptable! We should strive not to do so. SHEESH!, this is bothersome on so many levels.
… of the Saint Paul Newman Center …
Aren’t they a little bit early with the canonization here? I mean, Cool Hand Luke hasn’t even been buried yet!
I think this is so sad. “And when I was a boy I asked God please make me normal and the prayer never got answered and I realized why. Because God would’ve made somebody else he wouldn’t have made me.” That breaks my heart. I have known many gay people and most of them have been deeply unhappy, poisonously cynical, or both. He is wrong if he thinks that “gay marriage” will fix things any more than easy divorce made things better for families.
The saddest part is that this priest is probably right — he would have been a different person if his prayer was answered. But he might not have been a better one. Struggling against any sort of compulsion to do wrong is terribly difficult. I can’t doubt that he is being truthful, but he has learned the wrong lesson from his affliction.
“This is a scientific question and one the Church will never weigh in on.”
I don’t believe that you intend to separate science from faith, but JP II makes it clear we can’t do that sort of thing in “Fides et Ratio”.
The Church can weigh in on anything. Just a friendly caution in the use of never. Sexual behavior that is not only inmoral but unnatural is another level of perversion. I think the Church can weigh in on the faith and reason that no man is born with the innate sexual attraction to long-haired llamas. It is perverse, inmoral, and unnatural. Can we not say the same for pedophilia and homosexuality?
Last I checked, we were all born with a thing called CONCUPISCENCE, that does not mean that sin is acceptable!
You hit on my pet theory of what motivates “progressive” thinking (in addition to self-worship): the belief that swirl of thoughts that enter the mind represent your true self and not the choices as to which thoughts you affirm with full consciousness and action. Occassionaly have a sexist, racist, homosexual, etc. thought enter your mind? Then you are those things. Horse manure.
Just wondering?
Does a priest “own” his pension rights even after he loses his right to minister and say Mass in his diocese?
It’s interesting how many priests and bishops proclaim their dissident beliefs once they are no longer assigned to a parish or in formal ministry.
I wonder how many would be so vocal if that had to go out and get a job?
Just wondering?
Does a priest “own” his pension rights even after he loses his right to minister and say Mass in his diocese?
It’s interesting how many priests and bishops proclaim their dissident beliefs once they are no longer assigned to a parish or in formal ministry.
I wonder how many would be so vocal if they had to go out and get a job?
He prayed as a boy that God would make him sexually “normal” and his prayer “never got answered.” What an indictment on our seminaries that such childish theology and mechanical/materialist notions of sexuality not only survived but thrived in 23 years of priestly formation.
Even if it’s not an occasional thought, it’s still not “you” unless you consent to it. (And keep consenting instead of repenting.)
I wish kids were taught, “Same sex attraction is an psychological quirk that some people have. It’s annoying for them to be drawn toward sin in that way so strongly; but it’s equally annoying for kleptomaniacs to be drawn toward theft. Everybody has plenty of temptations in daily life, and everybody has to learn not to act on them. With God’s help and grace, we can resist sin. If we fall, we can ask God’s forgiveness by going to Confession, and He will absolve us of it.”
His logic is badly flawed. You don’t help junkies by giving them a warm, clean room and a sterile needle to shoot up with. You help them by getting them away from the harmful stuff and helping deal with the temptation that will probably haunt them their whole life.
Same is true with those of same-sex attraction.
Last I checked, everyone has the same protection under the law currently. We all can marry someone of the opposite sex who is willing to do so.
That would be his last mass if the bishops had any backbones. I wouldn’t count him out just yet, I’m sure he has plenty more homilies left on contraception, abortion, and papal infallibility. Any guess where he comes down on those issues?
He got a standing ovation. These people love this man – just like the people loved cool priest and gay-hero Paul Shanley (who is now behind bars). In the little video one fellow said “This is the type of thing that Jesus would have done” – which is simple blasphemy. Pray your rosaries today folks and hope God’s forbearance with our twisted and sick generation continues.
Baron,
Unfortunately, in today’s ever more warped society, a clean room and nice fresh needle are EXACTLY how we treat junkies. Google “safe injection sites.” That’s one of the major problems with the world we live in. Society has this idea that guilt and conscience are a fabrication, and that there really is nothing wrong with your every hedonistic impulse. Rather than resisting and/or bettering yourself, you just need to be understood, accepted for “who you are”, and given as safe an environment for self-destruction as possible.
If I have an inclination to scream “I LOVE HAMPSTERS, EAT FRIED CHICKEN!” everytime I see a person with red hair, I should follow that innate inclination, because that’s how God made me! I prayed that this inclination would go away, but it didn’t, so it must be God’s will.
So, why were there news reporters outside the church ready to record parishioners’ reactions to Fr. Farrow’s statements? I’ve never left the church building after Sunday Mass at my parish to find a reporter wanting to know what I thought about Father’s homily. Seems to me that this was an organized publicity stunt and that Fr. Farrow has committed the sin of scandal.
Thanks for setting me ‘straight’, preacher. Now I know that my inner inclinations to visit strip clubs and look at girlie pictures are merely reflections of my psychological and neurological makeup. That’s just how I was made! So I guess it would be unnatural to go against how I was made.
Wasn’t that a song?
Falling in lust again
I never wanted to
What am I to do
I can’t help it
Lust has always been my game
Play it how I may
I WAS MADE THAT WAY
I can’t help it….
Can’t wait until the Church repeals that ban on fornication. This is going to be great.
Ray from MN: See
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_salary_of_a_Catholic_priest
I’m an alcoholic so I don’t drink.
He likes boys so he should skip sex…..oh, that’s right – he’s a PRIEST who should not be having sex with anyone…Silly me!
Michaelus: exactly. The ‘People’ may love him, but the ‘People’ loved Barabbas too. Doesn’t make them right.
Jester:
A great corrective to Fr. Farrow, teaching videos from California Catholic Bishops on this subject, (Bishops Cordileone, Niederauer, Vigneron)can be found by going to this new site “Marriage Matters to Kids”. Just came online:
http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/
There’s not enough information available here to know what’s going on. Is Father Geoff leaving the priesthood? If so, was he planning to leave anyway? There doesn’t seem to be anything inherent in his statement that would require his departure. It’s pretty evident that there are a certain number of gay bishops and priests just as there are gay members of the population at large. I can’t see how a priest saying he was gay would cause him to leave the priesthood. If that were the case, the clergy shortage would be even worse than it it now.
The Church used to be a major financial supporter of science. And it does take positions on current scientific theory. For example, they do not see a conflict between Creationism and Darwinism. And they do not support the theory of Intelligent Design. So, yes, they will eventually look into contemporary science and homosexuality and will take a position in the future. They aren’t stupid! And they do value science!
I’m trying to reach Geoff Farrow to invite him to speak to a group of us, TASC, Thinking Active Senior Clergby, mostly Lutheran. I haven’t been able to find a way to reach him. Can you help?
Ciao, John
I’m a member of a retired pastor’s group, TASC, Thinking Active Senior Clergy, mostly Lutheran. We have been wanting to invite Geoff Farrow to come and speak to our group. We are all supportive of his position. Can you help us find a way to reach him?
Sincerely, John