Hatred, Hypocrisy & The Company You Keep

My niece Kate sent me a link to a piece in the “The Pilot”, Boston’s Roman Catholic newspaper. The op-ed by Michael Pakaluk was disturbing to Kate and to me. His topic? “Children in the custody of same-sex couples in parochial schools”. Why the odd turn of phrase “in the custody of”? Mr. Pakaluk states that “one cannot say, “children of” same sex couples”. Right off the bat it is clear where he stands. Using a twisted homophobic logic he makes his case that children of same sex couples should not be enrolled in parochial schools, especially at the elementary level. He believes it is too strong an endorsement of the gay “lifestyle” and will inevitably lead to “scandal”. Beyond his self righteous, anti-gay positions he is also a clear opponent of the reforms of Vatican II. Apparently bringing the Roman Catholic Church out of the Dark Ages - literally and figuratively - was beyond the pale for Mr. Pakaluk.

In her e-mail, Kate drew my attention to Mr. Pakaluk’s credentials, including a stint as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. But what got me curious was his current employment with the “Institute for the Psychological Sciences” Turns out The Institute is is part of the "Legion of Christ". Ring a bell? Yes, that’s the same Legion of Christ founded by "Father" Marcial Maciel. Yes, that’s the same one who molested children and seminarians and was involved in both homosexual and heterosexual relationships while he was a priest. This past May, the Vatican released a communique condemning Maciel. Pope Benedict XVI also ordered an investigation into the Legionaries and its lay affiliate Regnum Christi.

That is “scandal” in both the religious and secular sense of the word indeed Mr. Pakaluk.