Writer Austen Ivereigh, founder of the Catholic media organization “Catholic Voices” and biographer of Pope Francis, has openly questioned if Jesus Christ had “homosexual tendencies.”
According to LifeSiteNews, Ivereigh made his comments about the sexuality of Jesus on Twitter when discussing gay priests working in the Vatican. Ivereigh claimed that the Catholic Church refusing to allow these men to live openly with their identity makes the vow of chastity harder for them.
“The issue, as the priests make clear, isn’t celibacy and chastity, but having to hide who they are,” said Ivereigh. “The denial makes it impossible to live the vow in freedom. That’s what they’re saying.”
A Twitter user then replied to Ivereigh in Spanish, saying a priest should be heterosexual because he operates in “personal Christ” (in the persona of Christ). “They must serve God and his people without the entanglement of manifesting or hiding a hidden tendency,” said the Twitter user. “The priests, I believe, must be heterosexual. They act in persona Christi. And I do not think our Lord had homosexual tendencies.”
Ivereigh then questioned openly if the critic of his position is so sure that Jesus did not have homosexual tendencies. “Why do you say that our Lord did not have homosexual tendencies? From what signs or sayings or gestures do you deduce this?” asked Ivereigh.
Christians of varying denominations generally agree that Jesus Christ not only lived a sinless life but also had no temptation to sin, which would mean he had no homosexual tendencies, not to mention lustful desires for women. Yet Ivereigh (the Pope’s biographer) raised the question about “tendencies” Jesus might have had.
Joseph Shaw of LifeSiteNews says of Ivereigh’s position: “Our Lord Jesus Christ was sinless in his earthly life. More than that, he was free from Original Sin and all its effects and implications for his human soul and personality. More even than that, since he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, it was the Holy Spirit which guided his growth and development. This is why it would be theologically erroneous to represent Christ as physically deformed, or as physically ugly. The same goes for his psychological make-up in his human nature.”
Ivereigh’s comments about gay priests living openly follows a recently released book by openly gay sociologist Frederic Martel, who claims that a gay subculture of priests currently resides in the Vatican. Some Catholics have cautioned that while the book speaks certain truths, its agenda cannot be overlooked. From LifeSiteNews:
Martel claims in his book that the majority of the clergymen working in the Vatican are homosexuals, but this claim must be tempered by his patently false belief that all those who fight homosexuality are themselves homosexual. However, it’s plausible that he spoke with many high-ranking prelates and priests and, being himself a homosexual, has had direct access to some homosexually active clergymen in the Vatican. Martel’s specific description of the state of affairs in the Vatican, he says, is based on interviews with 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, and 45 papal nuncios, as well as 200 priests and seminarians (and with the help of some 80 correspondents, translators, and collaborators).
Monsignor Battista Ricca, the controversial head of Santa Marta – the Pope’s residence – is said to have invited Martel for a visit at Santa Marta. Ricca, notorious for his homosexual exploits, seems to have been a key player granting Martel access to the Vatican and its homosexual network.