Homosexuality and the Clergy

Is there really a significant relationship? The well-respected magazine The Atlantic Monthly observes: “Health officials who deal with sexually transmitted diseases have long been aware of the frequency of homosexuality among Catholic priests. In the words of one such official, ‘I and most of the public-health directors I’ve talked to about this subject estimate that in our communities at least a third of Catholic priests under forty-five are homosexuals, and most are sexually active. They almost always engage in anonymous encounters, the highest-risk sex of all.’”​—February 1987, page 48.

What about homosexuality and the clergy of other religions? After discussing the number of cases of AIDS among Catholic priests, The New York Times noted regarding this disease that is spread primarily by homosexual activity: “AIDS has affected a broad range of Americans, including rabbis, Episcopal priests, Baptist ministers and other clergymen.”